Play Report - Ray of Sunshine Campaign

[JGray]

Ray of Sunshine is an Up to Your Waist campaign set in Orlando, Florida. The game opens around the time of Storm Front (before the Vampire War or the founding of the Paranet) but we've rolled the timeline forward so that the events of Storm Front are happening in 2014 instead of 2000. The campaign has a wiki with detailed themes, threats, locations and faces which you can find here.

The PCs of Ray of Sunshine are:

Pippa Cavallo
High Concept: Descendant of Epona
Hope: Peace, Quiet, Horses
Trouble: I Prefer My Horse
Other Aspects: Were You Born in a Barn?, Big Intimidating Dog, My Special Gladius, Tiny but Fierce
Skills: Athletics (+4), Survival (+4), Alertness (+3), Weapons (+3), Endurance (+2), Guns (+2), Resources (+2), Empathy (+1), Driving (+1), Lore (+1), Might (+1), Scholarship (+1)
Stunts: Acrobatics
Powers: Echo of the Beast, Inhuman Speed
Longfellow
High Concept: Spell Slinging Thrill Seeker
Hope: A Place to Belong
Trouble: Never Met a Risk I Didn't Like
Other Aspects: BFF Forever, Heart of Iron, Tricked Out Bike, A Different Job Each Week
Skills: Conviction (+3), Discipline (+3), Driving (+3), Craftsmanship (+2), Endurance (+2), Intimidation (+2), Performance (+2), Presence (+2), Alertness (+1), Athletics (+1), Guns (+1), Lore (+1), Stealth (+1), Survival (+1)
Powers: Channeling (Ferromancy), Ritual (Ferromancy), The Sight, Soulgaze, Wizard's Constitution
Sophia Rodriguez
High Concept: Agent of the Furies
Hope: White Picket Fence
Trouble: The Gun Always Whispers
Other Aspects: Never Far From the Barrio, Sting of the Scorpion, Defender of the (Mostly) Innocent, Struggling Law Firm
Skills: Scholarship (+4), Discipline (+3), Guns (+3), Alertness (+2), Athletics (+2), Presence (+2), Resources (+2), Contacts (+1), Conviction (+1), Empathy (+1), Endurance (+1), Intimidation (+1), Investigation (+1), Stealth (+1)
Stunts: Unshakable, Target Rich Environment
Powers: Item of Power (Sting of the Scorpion, a pistol empowered by the Furies): True Aim, No One Escapes Vengeance (functionally similar to 'All Are Equal Before God'.
Lucia Marie Santos
High Concept: Cat or Reporter?
Hope: The Truth Shall Set You Free
Trouble: Curiosity Killed the Cat
Other Aspects: Born in the Dream, Like a Cat With a Mouse, All About the iContacts, Fast Friends and More
Skills - Human: Rapport (+4), Contacts (+3), Investigation (+3), Empathy (+2), Presence (+2), Alertness (+1), Burglary (+1), Conviction (+1), Deceit (+1), Discipline (+1), Lore (+1), Performance (+1), Resources (+1), Stealth (+1)
Skills - Cat: Alertness (+3), Investigation (+3), Athletics (+2), Empathy (+2), Presence (+2), Rapport (+2), Scholarship (+2), Stealth (+2), Burglary (+1), Conviction (+1), Discipline (+1), Endurance (+1), Lore (+1), Performance (+1), Survival (+1)
Powers: Item of Power (Necklace of the Eldest Malk's Affection): Beast Change (Housecat), Human Form, Inhuman Speed, Marked by Power, Cloak of Shadows, Ghost Speaker

[JGray]

First Sesson - Act I: Murder Most Foul

Who Was There
Pippa Cavallo, Descendant of Epona.
Longfellow, Spell Slinging Thrill Seeker.
Sophia Rodriguez, Agent of the Furies.
Lucia Marie Santos, Reporter Who Turns into a Cat.

What Happened
In the last several weeks there have been three murders - two men and one woman. Each victim was found in their car with their throat ripped out. It is July in Orlando, the height of tourist season, and the authorities seem reluctant to name this a serial killing. Thus far, the media have gone along with downplaying the deaths...

* At the Orlando Sentinel, a latino intern wearing a red shirt hands Lucia a note, telling her that if she wants a scoop on the latest string of murders she should be at the parking lot of 601 S Semoran Blvd at 10:14 pm. She attempts arrive early but car trouble is compounded by needing to pull into a station for gas. As a result, she only gets to the parking lot a minute or two early. She drives by slowly and then parks down the street to watch. COMPEL: Curiosity Killed the Cat.

* Pippa is just cleaning up for the evening when she spots a horse running out of the barn. She gives chase, eventually hopping into her Ford F150 to follow. The horse, which started wearing a large, doofy straw hat roughly halfway along, vanished as Pippa turned into the parking lot of 601 S Semoran Blvd. COMPEL: I Prefer My Horse.

* Longfellow is out riding her motorcycle when a latino wearing jean shorts and a red shirt zooms by on his bike, obviously challenging her to a race. Never one to turn down a challenge, Longfellow gives chase. Her opponent stays ahead, vanishing just as he turns into the parking lot of 601 S Semoran Blvd. COMPEL: Never Met a Risk I Didn't Like.

* A ghost, a latino wearing jean shorts and a red shirt, appears before Sophia as she is closing up her law office for the night. The ghost, seemingly murdered, guides Sophia to the parking lot of 601 S Semoran Blvd. COMPEL: Agent of the Furies.
601 S Semoran Blvd is an older medical office plaza. At quarter past ten at night, the lot is empty except for the group's vehicles and a blue Toyota Prius. The Prius's headlights are on, creating a pool of light on the wall and the passenger side door is open.

* Cautious at first, the four women slowly approach each other. Some realize they know others there. Longfellow has met Sophia before and, together, they took down a Red Court vampire. Sophia met Lucia briefly when their professional lives intersected. Longfellow looks vaguely familiar to Pippa, who had saved Longfellow's life from hungry wraiths. And, in time, Lucia and Pippa will realize their loves intersected in a summer of teen romance when they were younger.

* They turn their attention to the Prius. Inside a man sits in the driver's seat, dead. His throat has been ripped out. There's blood splashed across the windshield and dashboard. The display lights on the dashboard are still on.

* Pippa looks over the torn out throat, trying to match it to damage she's seen done by animals on her horses. It doesn't match any animal she is aware of and looks more like the damage a human could do. Using her experience looking at crime scene photos as a lawyer, Sophia realizes that there isn't enough blood for the wound. She wonders, aloud, if this could be the work of a Red Court vampire. She's dealt with them in the past. Upon hearing this, Pippa heads to her truck and pulls out her gladius.

* Realizing that a killer might be getting away, Lucia transforms into her house cat form in front of everyone and begins exploring for clues. The others are surprised but, considering they all have supernatural powers, someone turning into a cat seems less worrisome than the nearby body. Longfellow leans in to examine the body. Her natural anti-tech field shorts out the Prius and the car's electricals die.

* Lucia the cat finds a set of tire tracks, wide and thick. Like those on a truck. They don't seem to belong to Pippa's Ford F150. She follows them to the end of the parking lot and returns, then hops into the car to examine further. Lucia finds a small, black box plugged into the dashboard. On it, written in yellow, friendly letters is the word: Y'all.

* Sophia opens the Prius' glovebox and checks the car's registration. It belong to a man named Milo Shepard. She also finds a business card that indicates Milo Shepard is a professional CPA.

* Lucia transforms back into a human and points out the box. They figure out that Y'all is an internet based ride-sharing service that started operations in Orlando a few months ago. The box tracks miles driven so drivers can get paid at the end of the month. It seems that Milo Shepard was sidelining and making money offering rides to strangers. They slip Milo's iPhone from his pocket in order to check the app connected to the Y'all box but are unable to guess Milo's passcode in three tries and the phone locks up.

* While the others try to crack the phone, Longfellow follows the tire tracks that Lucia found. She realizes that the truck turned too sharply out of the parking lot and knocked a highway marker askew. Looking carefully, she finds flecks of black, metallic paint. She carefully collects the paint chips and then puts them in a small, metal box. She moves to the center of the parking lot and lays a length of wire down on the ground in a circle around her. She whispers quietly to herself in Japanese and then releases the power. The wire leaps up and wraps around her forearm.

* Longfellow announces that she can find the pick-up truck that peeled out of the parking lot. Though a caravan is more obvious, they realize they can't leave their vehicles at a crime scene and decide to follow Longfellow in separate cars as she drives out of the parking lot on her bike.

[Sanctaphrax]

Kinda curious about the "hope" sections on those character sheets. Did you make a new category of Aspect for this game or something?

[JGray]

Kinda curious about the "hope" sections on those character sheets. Did you make a new category of Aspect for this game or something?

Yes. I should have explained that. Instead of second guest star spot, we decided that the seventh aspect would be a Hope. A flip-side of the Trouble. In part, this was because our attempts to create a second set of guest star aspects didn't work well. They seemed rather contrived. My players wanted a campaign that was set in the Dresdenverse but not as dark as the books. So, one of our ideas was Ray of Sunshine - a ray of light in the darkness. A chance to do good. We decided to codify this as an actual Aspect. Each player is defined and driven as much by their Hope as their Trouble.

I see Harry Dresden's Hope, btw, as "He Died Doing the Right Thing".

[solbergb]

While as a rule I'm kind of down with the Fate Core idea that 5 aspects is plenty to keep track of what with consequences, scene stuff, declarations etc etc, I do like how you can influence the entire campaign by reskinning the aspects, and the extra aspects in Dresden Files makes that easier to do.

The Dresden Files guest star stuff is intended to give the characters solid reasons to work together in the opening of the campaign (and some of them will likely shift around after milestones and play give new emphasis to the character).    If your players are already tied together pretty well, or for smaller groups, using the extra guest star to set the campaign tone seems kind of awesome.

One thing I noticed in the sample adventures Neutral Grounds and Night fears was every stock character shared an aspect (Neutral Grounds Regular or Not a Kid Anymore....I especially liked the last one for a haunted house mystery with 14 year olds...) which gave them a reason to be involved and a stake in the adventure.  I did something like that in my own Codex Alera-Fate variant playtest had all of the players with various Academ Cursor Trainee type aspects, with flavor tied to "what kind of a spy are you....eg, Sexy Spy, Sneaky Spy, Genius Spy etc"

In any campaign where the characters have a common theme of some kind it's a pretty powerful technique - this was always something we struggled with in our Champions campaigns, because the genre has a lot of solo heroes but tabletop RPG is always a "Team Up" kind of "comic".

An aspect indicates a member, but you have a life, high concept means it really is your life (eg, Hawkeye has an "Actually an Avenger but they Hate to Admit It" aspect in his current run, where  Professor X has "Telepathic X-Men Mentor" in his high concept).

Kinda nice actually, and makes it really clear when an outsider gets involved.  Team aspects can be invoked, compelled all kinds of ways.

The secret hope for each character as a complement to the Trouble aspect is pretty unique though.  Very creative.  I will steal shamelessly if I run Fate again and my campaign world needs a little extra zing.

[JGray]

With a group of four, each character is connected to two of the others using the fourth phase (Who's Path Have I Crossed). One because they guest star in someone else's story. One because someone guest star's in them. When we played with the fifth phase (Who Else's Path Have I Crossed) it got messy and a bit ridiculous. So, we worked up the idea of a Hope. Your High Concept is who you are. Your Trouble is what brings problems to your door. Your Hope is what gets you through the worst of it. It just seemed to work to me.

[GamingInSeattle]

Nice write up so far.  I enjoy that you add in the compels to show how the group came together.

Out of curiosity, did the PC who turned into a cat retain her clothes when she changed back?  If memory serves in the Dresdenverse any clothes or items (outside of magic ones?) are lost to the Nevernever (or elsewhere) when you shape shift.  I always thought it was a nice limitation to shapechanging, at least socially and resource wise.

Looking forward to more!

~ GIS

[narphoenix]

Ok. I think you're stealing from me now. Because your agent of the Furies and my agent of the Furies both have the same first name (spelled differently). 

[JGray]

Nice write up so far.  I enjoy that you add in the compels to show how the group came together.

Out of curiosity, did the PC who turned into a cat retain her clothes when she changed back?  If memory serves in the Dresdenverse any clothes or items (outside of magic ones?) are lost to the Nevernever (or elsewhere) when you shape shift.  I always thought it was a nice limitation to shapechanging, at least socially and resource wise.

Looking forward to more!

Thanks for the compliments. When Lucia turns into a cat her clothing (but not any item she might be carrying such as her purse) seems to change as well. When she turns back human, she's wearing the clothing. Why? That's a great question... and it'll be a plot point in the game.

Narphoenix: I didn't name Sophia. That was totally the player.

[narphoenix]

Narphoenix: I didn't name Sophia. That was totally the player.

They're also both Hispanics and have jobs to do with the law (mine is a cop while the player's is lawyer).

Granted, Alice Grace (mine's alias) would eat Miss Rodriguez alive, but then Alice is about four times her refresh, so.

[Arcane]

Maybe the Furies just have a type. 

[JGray]

Second Session - Act II: Accorded Neutral Ground

Who Was There
Pippa Cavallo, Descendant of Epona.
Longfellow, Spell Slinging Thrill Seeker.
Sophia Rodriguez, Agent of the Fury.
Lucia Marie Santos, Reporter Who Turns into a Cat.

What Happened
In the last several weeks there have been three murders - two men and one woman. Each victim was found in their car with their throat ripped out. It is July in Orlando, the height of tourist season, and the authorities seem reluctant to name this a serial killing. Thus far, the media have gone along with downplaying the deaths. A series of strange happenings brought four women to the parking lot of 601 South Semoran Blvd, where they encountered another dead body. The four women investigated and what they found has led them across the city...
* Using her ferromancy, Longfellow uses flecks of paint to track a suspect vehicle across town to South Court Avenue. They find the vehicle, a black Ford F150, parked in a small lot across from the Kush Hookah Lounge. A quick check proves that the truck has a nasty scratch just behind the left headlight, proving it is the one they are looking for. This truck was at the crime scene.
* Lucia and Sophia, who have been to the Kush Lounge before, explain to Pippa and Longfellow that it is a place where the local mystical community goes to relax and that it is a "neutral place", though neither is quite sure what that means other than no one is allowed to fight there.
* Entrance into the Lounge is for "members" only. Sophia enters the code into a small box and then leads the others upstairs into the Lounge. There they are greeted by Gary Schwartz, the Lounge's owner. He invites them in and asks them to sit anywhere they like. The team notices that there are a few other patrons there as well, notably Moondove and Edwina Spenser, who are sitting together and a rather brutish looking man.
* Lucia asks Gary what he knows about the black truck in the parking lot. She suggests that she dinged the truck and wants to exchange insurance information. Gary explains that the truck belongs to Digger and points towards the brutish man. He suggests that Digger has been moody lately and is the sort to make trouble, though he won't do it in the Lounge.
** Lucia rolls her Deceit (+1) with a +1 bonus for her Contacts (+3) skill due to her prior relationship with Gary. She rolls +++- for a total of +4. Gary's opposing roll total is +4. Lucia wins the tie and Gary buys the falsehood.
* The team takes a seat in a relatively private area to discuss the situation. Alicia, their server, takes their orders. Pomegranate juice for Lucia, a local microbrew stout for Pippa, water and a pumpkin spice tobacco smoke for Sophia, and nothing for Longfellow. They begin their conversation, expressing concern that the man who had a truck at the scene of the crime is in a mystical hangout. Longfellow suggests Lucia go talk to Digger, since she's a reporter and all.
* Lucia walks over to Digger and asks him if he owns the beautiful, black truck outside.
** Lucia rolls Rapport to establish social conflict. She spends a fate point to reroll a poor go and gets a -OOO for a total of +3. Digger's responding roll is a +1. Instead of taking two Social Stress, Digger chooses a Mild Consequence: Distracted.
* Digger seems startled and stares up at Lucia, then growls at Lucia, telling her to go away. Meanwhile, Pippa moves tables so she can keep an eye on Lucia. She's invited to sit down by Moondove, who explains "you can keep a better eye on your friend from here."
** Digger rolls Intimidation for a total of +5. Lucia defends with Discipline and rolls ++O+. A total of +4. She decides to take 1 box of Social Stress.
* Moondove introduces herself and Edwina to Pippa, stating that she's obviously new. Moondove explains that she's seen Lucia at the Lounge with "the Warden". Moondove also notes that demigods are rare in these parts. That startles Pippa a bit.
* Lucia attempts to get a read on Digger, draw him out in conversation and see what he's hiding behind his sullen distracted eyes. As they talk, she gets a sense that there's something wrong with Digger. He reminds Lucia of people she's interviewed who worked for the mob and were constantly worried about what they said for fear of crossing their bosses. At the same time, he reminded Lucia of mentally disabled people she's met who have a hard time with impulse control and thought processing. There was also a faint similarity to drug addicts she's met - meth addicts specifically.
** Lucia rolls Rapport to establish conversation. She adds in the free Tag she got on Digger's mild Distracted consequence. Lucia rolls ++++. The total, with the +2 from the Invoked Aspect, is +10. Digger rolls a -1 in defense. Lucia got all sorts of info.
* Pippa asks what would happen if Digger caused trouble in the Lounge. Edwina responds that she believes Gary would ask him to leave and possibly call the police.
* Lucia decides to back off and ends the social conflict. She walks by the table with Moondove, Edwina, and Pippa. She asks to sit. Moondove has to leave and check on someone named George. Moondove and Edwina hug goodbye. Then, instead of inviting Lucia to sit down, Edwina moves to sit with the team at their table.
* Edwina introduces herself as the owner of the Book Worm, a used book stall at the International Flea Market. The conversation quickly turns to Digger. Edwina explains that he is mortal but clued-in due to having a half-brother who is a Changeling. Digger is a local boxer, semi-pro, with a day job tending after a building. He's always been somewhat anti-social with tendencies towards bullying but lately Digger has been edgy or moody, often coming in to drink and smoke without talking to anyone. He just fidgets, stares into space, smokes, drinks and leaves. The investigators ask if she thinks him capable of murder. She supposes and notes it could be the cause of Digger's odd behavior. "That sort of thing weighs on mortals". Pippa says that she believes the murder in question was done by something supernatural. When Edwina admits she isn't up on recent news, they fill her in.
* Edwina thinks out loud. There are some fae, she notes, that drink human blood. Vampires are an obvious choice but only two of the four Courts drink blood. The existence of four different courts (possibly five if the rumors about an Asian court are true) disturbs the investigators. Edwina goes on to explain that Mister Kadaver does kill, if the rumors are true, but he doesn't drink blood since he's a White Court. The Court of Veils eat dreams. So, that leaves the Black and Red Courts. And since Edwina saw Digger during the day not so long ago, he's probably not either of those. Edwina allows that Digger could be working for a vampire - powerful people like servants, after all. Then Edwina encourages the investigators to leave this alone, bids them good evening and then leaves.
* Once Edwina is gone, Lucina explains that, while she was in cat form and in the murder car, she smelled something horrible and dead. Pippa takes that as her cue. She stands up, walks to the bathroom, and tries to subtle sniff Digger on the way. She smells too much sweat, too much booze and that sour smell that comes from a lack of sleep but Digger smells human. There is a lingering scent of death on him, though, as if he's been too close to a dead body for a prolonged period recently. Pippa goes to the bathroom, does her business, then returns and tells the others what she scented.
** Pippa has Echoes of the Beast so she rolls Alertness+1. She gets O+-- for a total of +3.
* While Pippa explains about what she smelled on Digger, he throws money on the table, gets up and leaves. He doesn't even respond to Gary bidding him a good evening.

GM NOTES
This was my second time running a session of the DFRPG and, looking back, I can see a few places where I could have done better.

* I was fairly stingy with information about the supernatural world. My baseline for urban fantasy is a string of World of Darkness games I ran back in the day and it seems I'm still unconsciously beholden to the Masquerade. I could have given more information to make the investigation more interesting.
* I didn't make effective use of Compels. With Lucia, the reporter, especially. Her player has a cautious play style and I could have used her 'Curiosity Killed the Cat' trouble to push her more.
* Likewise, I could have given Aspects out, too. Lucia rolls a +10 against a -1 at one point. That should have been good for giving her a Tag on Digger's Aspect. Also, Pippa spent a Fate Point to ensure that she'd be able to pass Digger on her way to the bathroom. I should have given the location a temporary "Path to the Bathroom" Aspect and allowed Pippa a tag on it. I probably also should have had her Deceit modify her Alertness roll for sniffing Digger on the sly.

On the other hand, I did some stuff right, too.

* Setting up our campaign wiki with locations and NPCs ahead of time helped quite a bit. It allowed me to quickly bring up pictures for the players to look at.
* I made effective use of Google Maps and street view to show the parking lot where the truck was parked. The players were able to look around the scene as if they were standing there which made noting which shops were around easier. Added a nice sensory component to the game.
* I established the Faces (Gary, Edwina, and Moondove) as more than info dumps for the plot. Moondove had to go help George (a local white court wizard) with an experiment. Edwina tried to shill her business, the Book Worm. Gary showed concern for the safety of his customers. I even introduced Alicia, the server who will be murdered in the next casefile (which will be an adaption of Neutral Grounds).

All in all, this was a session where I left it feeling like I'd failed as a GM because not much happened but, upon reviewing the logs, I realized a lot was accomplished. The players need to learn to be less cautious - they're playing in a D&D frame of mind where being a 1st level character in a 10th level world gets you killed quick. They need to realize that death (and even serious penalties) isn't very easy in DFRPG. And they need to know their characters better (it took until the end of the session for the Daughter of Epona to remember she had the sense of smell of a horse). Beyond that, though, I think we're all learning well.

[JGray]

Third Session - Act III: Black Court Vampire

Who Was There
Pippa Cavallo, Descendant of Epona.
Longfellow, Spell Slinging Thrill Seeker.
Sophia Rodriguez, Agent of the Fury.
Lucia Marie Santos, Reporter Who Turns into a Cat.

What Happened
In the last several weeks there have been three murders - two men and one woman. Each victim was found in their car with their throat ripped out. It is July in Orlando, the height of tourist season, and the authorities seem reluctant to name this a serial killing. Thus far, the media have gone along with downplaying the deaths. A series of strange happenings brought four women to the parking lot of 601 South Semoran Blvd, where they encountered another dead body. The four women investigated and are now following a suspect related to the crimes...

* As Digger leaves the lounge, the investigators are approached by Gary Schwartz. He asks to speak with them. They agree and he mentions that he overheard some of the conversation Pippa had with Edwina Spenser and Moondove. He wants to be sure they understand what Accorded Neutral Ground really means and gives them a brief explanation: The Unseelie Accords are... laws. They govern how the various supernatural nations, I suppose you'd say, interact with each other. There's a lot of them signed on: the wizard group, several of the vampire groups, the faerie courts and powerful individuals. I hear at least one dragon's signed on. One of the rules is that a place that's been set as neutral ground, like my lounge, are violence free. If one member of a group that's signed onto the Accords has a problem with another member, they're obligated to take it outside. If they don't, there's no immediate punishment but, down the line, they're probably going to find an agent of the Queen of Winter coming after them for insulting her honor by breaking her rules."
** Lucia is awarded a Fate Point for allowing her curiosity to get the better of her - staying to hear Gary's explanation even though Digger might get away.
* The investigators pay for their drinks and tobacco, thank Gary for his explanation, and hurry outside. They see Digger's black truck down the street, driving away. Quickly, they move to follow. Longfellow hops on her bike with Lucia. Pippa and Sophia follow further behind in Pippa's truck.
** Longfellow rolls Driving (+3) w/ a -1 modifier for her Stealth. +-+O for a total of +3. Digger's roll to notice he's being followed is a +0. Pippa rolls Driving (+1) to keep Longfellow's bike in sight. +OO+ for a total of +3. Longfellow is awarded a Fate Point for choosing the more thrilling method of following Digger - she could have easily done another tracking spell.
* Digger doesn't notice he's being followed. He also drives almost drunkenly through a few stop signs. He eventually pulls into the parking lot of College Park Towers on Eggleston Avenue, a low income housing project in a neighborhood that's one part low budget commercial, one part warehouses, and all broken street lamps. This neighborhood reeks of cheap living filled with desperate people who can afford no better and predators that prey on their needs. This isn't the Orlando the tourist brochures talk about.
* The investigators park in the lot of the Auto Parts store next to the housing project and watch as Digger staggers inside the building. A quick check shows he parked his truck in the superintendent's parking space.
* Lucia transforms into cat form and sneaks over to the apartment building. It isn't too hard to get inside - the door is propped open by a brick. The superintendent's apartment is right on the left and she listens and sniffs and determines Digger is inside, probably watching television. She begins a floor by floor search of the building, sniffing and listening at doorways.
* Outside, Pippa and Sophia observe the building while Longfellow ponders - is Lucia a reporter who turns into a cat? Or a cat who turns into a reporter. Pippa and Sophia, meanwhile, notice that the windows of an apartment on the fifth floor have been painted black and that none of the other lights on that floor are on. Realizing that Lucia might be in over her head, the others head inside College Park Towers.
* They make their way up the stairs. Lucia is several floors ahead of them. It is quiet - strangely quiet. Even this late at night, there should be signs of life. Babies crying. People talking behind closed doors. Music. Laughter. Something. But it is like being in the forest while a predator is on the move.
* Pippa, Sophia and Longfellow reach the fifth floor where they see Lucia, in cat form, staring at the door of apartment 5B. Pippa can smell death inside. By now, weapons are drawn. They all feel the essential wrongness of this place. Something unnatural has claimed this building as a home.
* Longfellow moves forward and touches the door. With her will, she reaches for the metal of the deadbolt and twists. The door unlocks with a soft click.
** Longfellow casts a 2 shift evocation to unlock the door. With Discipline (+3) she rolls +-O+ for a total of +4. She takes 1 mental stress.
** Longfellow: Mental Stress X O O O.
* Beyond the door, a voice with an African accent calls out: "I did not summon you Digger. Return to your apartment before I decide I am still hungry."
* Physical conflict begins. The initiative order is: Pippa, Lucia, Vampire, Sophia, Longfellow.
* Pippa steps back with her sword drawn, ready for conflict.
* Lucia arches her back and hisses, her claws digging into the floor board.
* The vampire steps up to the door and sniffs. He puts his hand on the knob, ready to open the door then pauses as he sniffs the air and realizes. "You aren't Digger. Digger doesn't smell like horses and motorcycles and cats..."
* Without hesitating, Sophia rises the pistol given to her by the Furies and fires over Longfellow's shoulder, through the door. While the bullet hits, between the door and the vampire's own natural toughness it does no damage.
** Sophia rolls Guns (+3): +OOO for a total of +4. The vampire rolls Athletics (+3) w/ a +1 for Inhuman Speed. -O-- for a total of +1. With the barrier rating of the door added to the vampire's Armor:2, he takes no damage.
* Knowing the vampire is right behind the door now, Longfellow turns the handle and throws her body weight against it, attempting to shove him back and surprise him. The vampire roars in rage and yanks the door off the hinges and tosses it away behind him.
** Longfellow rolls Might (+0): O+-+ for a total of +1. She spends a Fate Point to invoke her "Different Job Each Week" Aspect - she does a lot of manual labor - and it raises to +3. The vampire rolls +OO+ and with his Inhuman Strength the total is +4. Longfellow does not shove him back but the door IS removed when he rips it away.
* Pippa takes advantage of the opening and rushes forward in an attempt to shove her blade into the vampire's chest. The vampire moves so fast he blurs and the blade pierces nothing.
** Pippa rolls Weapons (+3): --+0 for +2. The vampire rolls Athletics (+3) w/ +1 for Inhuman Speed: +-OO for a total of +4. He dodges.
* Lucia attempts to rush past the vampire, seeking to distract him. The vampire, rather than turn to follow her progress, moves with insane speed and kicks. The cat is thrown across the room. Luckily she lands on her feet.
** Lucia rolls Presence (+2) w/ a +1 bonus for Inhuman Speed. She rolls -O+- for a total of +2. His counter roll is Discipline (+3) w/ a +1 bonus for Inhuman Speed. He rolls -+OO. Total +4.
* The vampire lunches, his broken, claw-like nails sweeping out towards Longfellow. She just barely scrambles back, avoiding the attack. As it attacks, the vampire screams. "I am tired of this! I come to this country for opportunity and my education is ignored! I am forced to drive other people around like a servant!"
** The vampire rolls Fists (+3): O-O- for a total of +1. Longfellow rolls Athletics (+1): O-O- for a total of -1. She spends a Fate Point, invoking her 'BFF Forever' Aspect. She and her best friend spent a lot of time mock fighting. She rerolls: -+++ for a total of +3 and dodges.
* Sophia aims her revolver and focuses on her mission. The Furies charged her with bringing death to murderers. This monster killed at least four people. The scorpion sigil on the revolver flares with orange light as she squeezes the trigger. The bullet flies true and buries itself in his chest, reeking of burnt flesh and garlic.
** Sophia spends a Fate Point to activate her Item of Power's "Nobody Escapes Vengeance" ability. It counts as a Catch for this attack. She rolls Guns (+3) w/ a +1 bonus for True Aim: +--- for a total of +2. The vampire rolls Athletics (+3) w/ an Inhuman Speed +1 bonus: +--- for a total of +2. The vampire is dealt 2 Physical Stress. He chooses to negate that with a Mild Consequence: Garlic Burn. Sophia has the tag.
** Vampire: Mild Consequence - Garlic Burn.
* Longfellow takes the vampire's words and throws them back at him, teasing him for being foreign born and suggesting he probably drives on the wrong side of the road. In his enraged state, the vampire takes the bait and is provoked.
** Longfellow rolls Intimidation (+2): +-OO for a +2. The vampire rolls Rapport (+0): +O-+ for a total of +1. Longfellow puts a single round 'Provoked' Aspect on the vampire and gains a tag on it.
** Vampire: Mild Consequence - Garlic Burn | Temporary Aspect: Provoked.
* Pippa moves with the inhuman speed granted to her by Epona, leaping past the vampire and into the apartment. As she does so she turns, stabbing towards his back. The vampire twists out of the way.
** Pippa rolls Weapons (+3): -O--- for a total of 0. The vampire rolls Athletics (+3) w/ a +1 Inhuman Speed bonus: -++- for a total of +4. He dodges easily.
* As Lucia, in cat form, peers around the apartment she sees four ghosts: three men and a woman, all with their throat torn out, all staring with anger and despair at the vampire. Realizing these are the vampire's victims, Lucia communicates with the ghosts as all cats can, begging for their help. The ghosts seem to agree and small objects begin randomly lifting from around the apartment. They go tumbling towards the vampire with enough force to distract him, though not enough force to hurt him.
** Lucia rolls Rapport (+2) w/ a Mark of Power bonus of +1: +O+- for a total of +4. The GM determines this is enough to reach the ghosts and prod them into action. The vampire gains a 'Harried by Ghosts' Aspect.
** Vampire: Mild Consequence - Garlic Burn | Temporary Aspects: Provoked, Harried by Ghosts.
* Angry and in pain, the vampire reaches out in an attempt to rip Sophia's head from her shoulders, screaming all the while. '"Ignorant, arrogant Americans! Bullies! Every one of you! My employer! My customers! Even the superintendent of this bulding! But it is I, Joyful Changari, who is the bully now! The Digger, his mind is MINE to mold and terrorize! He is MY servant!"' Sophia, however, dodges quite well despite the narrow space of the corridor.
** Joyful Changari rolls Fists (+3): O-++. His total is +4. Sophia rolls Athletics (+2): O+++ for a total of +5. She dodges.
* Sophia takes a step back from the vampire. Time seems to slow down for her as the gun whispers that this murderer must be destroyed. It must know the power of the Furies. She squeezes the trigger. The bullet flies true and seems to burst into sunlight as it strikes. Joyful Changari's left arm is shredded into meat. The sunlight bullet ricochets off the bones on the vampire's arm and blasts a hole into his ribcage as well. Black ooze, the remains of his liquified organs, pours to the floor.
* Sophia spends a Fate Point to activate her Item of Power's "Nobody Escapes Vengeance" ability. She is then given Longfellow's tag on the "Provoked" Aspect and Kitty's tag on the "Harried by Ghosts" Aspect. She chooses to use both tags as well as her own tag on the vampire's "Garlic Burn". She rolls Guns (+3) w/ a +1 bonus for True Aim: +O+O for a total of +12. Joyful Changari rolls Athletics (+3) w/ a +1 bonus for Inhuman Speed: +OO+ for a total of +6. He takes +8 Physical Stress (the difference between her roll and his and +2 for the gun's base damage - the Nobody Escapes Vengeance ability negates his Inhuman Toughness armor). He chooses to erase those by taking a Severe Consequence: Mangled Arm and a Moderate Consequence: Gushing Side Wound. Sophia has tags on both of those.
** Joyful Changari: Mild Consequence - Garlic Burn | Moderate Consequence - Gushing Side Wound | Severe Consequence - Mangled Left Arm | Aspects: Provoked, Harried by Ghosts.
* Longfellow lifts her arms. Metal wires that are coiled around her wrists flies out and slashes at Joyful Changari, slicing pieces of flesh and bone from his body.
** Longfellow creates a 7 shift evocation to damage the vampire. Sophia hands Longfellow one of her tags and Longfellow has a foci that provides a +1 bonus. She rolls Discipline (+3): ++OO for a total of +8. Joyful Changari rolls Athletics (+3) to dodge w/ a +1 Inhuman Speed bonus: -+OO for a total of +4. He takes 4 physical stress but his natural armor reduces it to 2. At this point, the 'Provoked' Aspect, which was fragile, vanishes. Longfellow takes 4 Mental Stress.
** Joyful Changari: OXO (OOOO) | Mild Consequence - Garlic Burn | Moderate Consequence - Gushing Side Wound | Severe Consequence - Mangled Left Arm | Aspects: Harried by Ghosts.
* Longfellow: Mental Stress X O O X.
* Pippa leaps and swings with the gladius that came from her ancestor, Epona's, temple. She does not behead the vampire but cuts hard into his neck, sending a spray of ichor and flesh splattering across the hallway.
** Pippa rolls Weapons (+3): O+OO for a total of +4. She spends a Fate Point to activate her "My Special Gladius". Sophia also hands Pippa her remaining tag. The final total is +8. Joyful Changari rolls Athletics (+3) w/ a +1 bonus for Inhuman Speed: O-++ for a total of 5. His armor negates two points of stress so she inflicts 3 Physical Stress on the vampire.
** Joyful Changari: OXX (OOOO) | Mild Consequence - Garlic Burn | Moderate Consequence - Gushing Side Wound | Severe Consequence - Mangled Left Arm | Aspects: Harried by Ghosts.
* While the others battle, Lucia searches the room, looking for something else that can help. She realizes the stove in the tiny kitchenette is a gas model. Lucia transforms back into a human, uses the stove to light a book on fire and tosses it at the vampire. It bounces off his chest but he barely notices the book. A book, even on fire, is nothing compared to the wounds he has already taken. Not to mention the other objects that keep pelting him in the head.
** Lucia attempts to create an Aspect to distract the vampire. The flaming book is really a prop for her Presence (+2): OO-O for a total of +1. Joyful Changari rolls his Discipline (+3) to ignore it: --O+ for a total of +2.
* "I WILL DRINK YOU ALL DRY FOR THIS!" Joyful Changari attempts to grab and break Pippa's sword arm but she dances out of the way. He's slowing down, especially since he only has one arm he can use effectively.
** Joyful rolls Fists (+3): OOO+ for a total of +4. Pippa rolls Athletics (+4) w/ a +1 bonus for Inhuman Speed: --O+ for a total of +4. Spend spends a Fate Point to activate her "Tiny but Fierce" Aspect which brings the total to +6. She dodges.
* With the vampire focused on Pippa, Sophia has a clear shot and takes it. However, she's having trouble focusing her will on her mission and the bullet leaves the barrel of her revolver without any special power. It does little damage.
** Sophia uses Guns (+3) w/ a +1 bonus for True Aim: ++O- for a total of +5. Joyful Changari rolls Athletics (+3) w/ a +1 bonus for Inhuman Speed: -OO+ for a total of +4. His natural armor blocks two points of stress for he takes just 1 Physical Stress.
** Joyful Changari: XXX (OOOO) | Mild Consequence - Garlic Burn | Moderate Consequence - Gushing Side Wound | Severe Consequence - Mangled Left Arm | Aspects: Harried by Ghosts.
* Longfellow spots the stove, past the vampire, with the burner still on. She reaches out with her magic and yanks, hard. The stove leaps from the wall. The gas line rips and there's a small explosion, setting the walls of the apartment on fire.
** Longfellow casts a 3 shift Evocation. She rolls Discipline (+3) w/ a +1 bonus for her foci: +OOO for a total of +5. That's enough to yank the stove from the wall and put an 'On Fire' Aspect on the apartment.
* As Joyful Changari looks over his shoulder he roars in fury, seeing his apartment on fire. At that same time four ghostly figures materialize and grasp hold of the vampire, dragging him back inside. He is soon engulfed in the flames. Meanwhile, the building's fire alarm, apparently actually working, rings. In short order, people are fleeing the building - including the four investigators.
GM Notes
* This was the end of our first casefile. It was just past midnight at this point so I decided that, with all three Consequence slots filled in and three stress boxes checked off, the team had won the fight. Joyful Changari was their first major bad guy but he wasn't a master criminal. The ghosts and the fire provided a good way to end the fight.
* According to news reports, one body was found in the building, on the fifth floor. However, authorities believe the body, belonging to a former taxi driver named Joyful Changari had been dead for months before his body was burned in the fire. No one else was hurt in the fire and the damage was limited mostly to the fifth floor. The city believes they'll have College Park Towers repaired by the end of the summer and is working with insurance companies to find housing for the residents in the meanwhile. It wasn't front page news but Lucia's story on the fire did make page three, at least.
* Follow-up investigation will discover that Joyful Changari was Nigerian and came to this country fleeing political persecution. He wasn't granted asylum but was given a work visa. He had a degree in mechanical engineering but ended up working in Orlando as a taxi driver until the company went out of business due to pressure from ridesharing services like Y'all.
* Digger ended up in a hospital for psychiatric evaluation. Joyful Changari was slowly torturing him into a Renfield, sadistically drawing the process out over months.

[JGray]

Fourth Session - Red as Sunset, Act I: Bleeding Plastic

GM Note: This is an adaption of the Neutral Ground adventure provided by Evil Hat.

Who Was There
Pippa Cavallo, Descendant of Epona.
Longfellow, Spell Slinging Thrill Seeker.
Sophia Rodriguez, Agent of the Fury.
Lucia Marie Santos, Reporter Who Turns into a Cat.

What Happened
A week has past since the investigators destroyed a Black Court Vampire. Longfellow has gotten a job working in the back room of the Kush Hookah Lounge. Pippa, Sophia and Lucia have continued on with their lives...

* It is two in the afternoon and Sophia is in her law office when she gets a phone call from Gary Schwartz. His lawyer is out of town on vacation and he needs some advice on a real estate contract. As they are talking, Sophia hears Gary mention Akane (Longfellow) to his server, Alicia. Then she hears gunshots and a scuffle. Then a dial tone.
* As she runs for her car, Sophia calls Lucia at the Orlando Sentinel and explains there's trouble at the Lounge. Lucia agrees to head there right away and calls Pippa, who jumps in her truck and heads for the Lounge as well.
* At the lounge, Sophia finds the door to the lounge open. She moves upstairs cautiously and finds the main room in disarray. Tables are askew and hookahs are knocked over or smashed. Alicia, one of the lounge's servers, is lying in the floor in a puddle. She finds no sign of Gary.
* Sophia kneels down and begins dialing for 911 even as she examines Alicia. However, she decides not to press SEND when she realizes Alicia has no pulse, a low body temperature and her skin is spongy. The fluid leaking from her is probably not blood.
* Outside, Lucia arrives. She rushes upstairs without thinking. Unsure of who is tromping up the stairs, Sophia takes cover behind the bar. Lucia rushes to Alicia, trying to find a pulse. Like Sophia, Lucia is fairly sure the substance oozing from Alicia isn't blood. Lucia shakes Alicia, trying to get a response and Alicia's head falls off. Lucia screams.
* Pippa arrives and orders her dog, Spock, to guard the truck. She runs up the stairs when she hears the screaming. Her nose tells her Alicia's headless, bleeding body smells like plastic and graphite. There's no scent of blood or death. Upon closer inspection they realize that Alicia's head hasn't been torn off but seems to have been attached to her body the same way a Barbie doll's might be. She's got three gun shot wounds, one in the arm and two in the torso. They're leaking the dark fluid, which smells like graphite.
* Longfellow arrives for her shift at work. She heads up the stairs and pauses, frowning as she sees the other investigators and Alicia's headless, bleeding corpse. She asks what's going on. The others explain what they know so far as Sophia opens the door to the back area of the Lounge.
** The GM gave fate points to Pippa and Sophia as he invoked a scene aspect: Hidden Watcher, allowing the thug hiding in the back room to go first. Otherwise, the initiative order is - Pippa, Sophia, Thug, Longfellow, Lucia.
* A wild eyed young latino, dressed in jeans and a bright red t-shirt leaps out, a revolver in hand. He fires it at Sophia and misses. The bullet hits the ultra modern, glass bar and shatters it.
** The thug rolls Guns (+2): -+-- for a total of 0. Sophia dodges with Athletics (+2): +-O+ for a total of +3.
* Pippa hits the deck, going into total defense mode.
* Sophia already has her pistol out - she drew it while going up the stairs earlier. She take aim and fires, hitting the thug's gun with her own pistol. It goes flying out of his hand.
** Sophia rolls Guns (+3): O-+- for a total of +2. She invokes her 'Defender of the (Mostly) Innocent' Aspect to raise it to a +4, spending a Fate point. The thug rolls Athletics (+2): OO-- for a total of 0. She creates a Disarmed Aspect on the guy which she tags.
* The surprised thug continues to fight. He throws a punch at Sophia, which she barely dodges.
** The thug rolls Fists (+1): ++-O for a total of +2. Sophia rolls Athletics (+2): O+OO for a total of +3.
* Longfellow raises her arms. The wires she keeps wrapped around her forearms snake out and envelop the thug, binding him. He falls to the ground, incapable of movement.
** Longfellow creates a shift 4 evocation and rolls Discipline (+3): O-++ for a total of +4. Enough for the spell to succeed. The thug rolls Athletics (+2) to dodge: +O-O for a total of +2. The GM had earlier decided that the thug would concede if he took a Minor Consequence or was somehow bound up or grappled. The physical conflict ends.
** Longfellow: Mental Stress - O X O O.
* Longfellow decides to interrogate the thug. Give the magic she just did and the angry look on her face, she's fairly intimidating.
** Longfellow opens up a Social Conflict. She rolls Intimidation (+2) w/ a modification of +1 for her Discipline since she has him bound with magic: -+OO for a total of 3. The thug has no social skills with which to resist and rolls O--- for a total of -3. That's 6 Emotional Stress boxes. He decides to take a Minor Consequence of Pissed Pants and a Moderate Consequence of Terrified. He also concedes.
* The thug, fully intimidated by Longfellow, begins babbling in Spanish: '"Some man with a strange face named Kadaver hired me and my boys to grab the black man who owns this place. He gave us the code to get inside. I don't know where the drop was. Only Enrique knew. That's everything I know."'
* While Longfellow intimidates the thug, the others are also working. Sophia checks the office but does not find Gary. Instead, she finds the real estate contract he mentioned. According to Google Maps, the property is on the end of a lonely dirt road somewhere in the swamps.
* Lucia tries calling Gary's phone. Black Magic Woman sings out from somewhere in the room and she finds his phone by the door, probably where he dropped it. It isn't locked and she checks the call log. His last five calls were all outgoing: the law offices of Sophia Rodriguez, Unisystem Supply Company, Francine Williams, Brown Leaf Farms in Virginia and 555-4313. Unisystem is a supply company for restaurants. Brown Leaf Farms is a tobacco supplier. Lucia digs into her memory and remembers that Francine is more commonly known as Frank and is Gary's girlfriend. She also remembers that Gary's relationship with Frank is fairly recent. He broke up with his boyfriend, a guy named Eric, not long ago. And she remembers the rumors that Eric practices some sort of mind magic.
* Pippa examines the scene using her horse senses. She figures seven shots were filed, in total. Three hit Alicia. One hit the bar just now. The other two shots dug into the wall. She smells the scents of three men besides Gary. One belongs to the captured thug. The other two mingle with Gary's and then move downstairs. The kidnappers likely dragged him out of the Lounge.
* Sophia comes out of the office and helps Longfellow interrogate since she speaks Spanish and Longfellow does not. Every time they ask a question, the thug repeats the exact same thing: '"Some man with a strange face named Kadaver hired me and my boys to grab the black man who owns this place. He gave us the code to get inside. I don't know where the drop was. Only Enrique knew. That's everything I know."' The investigators realize he's been mentally programmed to give this answer.
Longfellow opens her Sight. She sees the thug as a child, stretched out into the shape of a man. Clawed fingers are digging into his mind, the arms trailing off into space and pieces of his soul have been eaten away in chunks. She also catches Sight of Pippa, with horse features and Roman armor. She closes her Sight and explains what she saw.
** Longfellow rolls Lore (+1): ++-+ for a total of 3 to open the Sight and interpret the vision. 3 is the difficulty. Then she rolls Discipline (+3) to close the Sight: ++++ for a total of +7. She has no problem closing it.
* Longfellow decides to try to perform a Ritual and break the spell cast on the thug. She knows if she can raise power around him in a completed circle she can cut the spell off. She encircles the bound thug with a metal wire and seals it with her blood. She gets Lucia's help as well. First, she has Lucia get the thug's Name from his own lips. Then she has Lucia guide the thug into deep breathing to calm him down. Longfellow takes a deep breath and then breathes out to pour power into the metal of the circle. The spell is cut off and the thug, exhausted from being mind controlled, collapses.
** Longfellow needs to raise 6 shifts of power to cast the counterspell ritual. Her Lore is +1 so she has to come up with 5 more shifts of power. Longfellow spends a Fate Point to invoke her metal circle as an Aspect, gaining a +2. Lucia spends a Fate Point to get the thug's Name as an Aspect, giving Longfellow another +2. Finally, Lucia guides the thug through meditation. She rolls Rapport (+4): +--- for a total of +2. She spends a Fate Point to invoke her "Fast Friends and More" Aspect and brings it up to a +4, matching the difficulty. This creates a "Meditation" Aspect which gives Longfellow +2 for a total of +6. She's got enough shifts to cast the ritual. The ritual will take fifteen minutes with three rolls at 2 difficulty each. Each roll represents five minutes. She rolls Discipline (+3) three times: +O-- for a +2, +O-+ for a +4 and -O+O for a +3. She succeeds at the ritual.
* With the ritual complete, the investigators contemplate the next step in rescuing Gary. They realize that if they have his phone, they have his contact list. And, sure enough, Eric's address is on the phone. Given that he is rumored to know mind magic and the poor kid laying on the floor had his brain controlled, they decide that is a good next step...

[JGray]

Fifth Session - Red as Sunset, Act II: Psychic Landmines

GM Note: This is an adaption of the Neutral Ground adventure provided by Evil Hat.


Who Was There
Pippa Cavallo, Descendant of Epona.
Longfellow, Spell Slinging Thrill Seeker.
Sophia Rodriguez, Agent of the Fury.
Lucia Marie Santos, Reporter Who Turns into a Cat.

What Happened
A week has past since the investigators destroyed a Black Court Vampire. Longfellow has gotten a job working in the back room of the Kush Hookah Lounge. However, not all is well at the Lounge. Three gang members have broken in, shot Alicia and kidnapped Gary Schwartz...

* Longfellow examines Alicia carefully and works out a method for repairing her. First she uses duct tape to seal up the holes. Then she finds a bottle of fluid in the staff lounge fridge which attaches to Alicia's belly button and injects the fluid. Finally, she uses a combination of magic and electricity from the nearest wall socket to give Alicia a jumpstart. Alicia's eyes open and she calls out, "Happy Birthday!" At the same time, everyone's smartphones ring for no reason and their hair all stands on end.
** Longfellow made a number of rolls to repair Alicia. First, she made a Lore (+1) roll modified by Craftmanship for a +1: O-+O for a total of +2. This gave her enough insight to attempt the repair. She spends a Fate Point to find a stash of Alicia's internal fluid in the employee lounge and gets a tag on that Aspect. Then Longfellow rolls Discipline (+3) to cast the spell channeling electricity through wires and into Alicia's body: -+-O for a total, with +2 from the Conductive Fluid tag, of +4.
* While Longfellow repairs Alicia, Sophia examines the Lounge's security system and determines that it has two combinations - one used by patrons/members to get into the Lounge when it is open and a master code used by employees to get into the Lounge when it closed. Since the Lounge was closed at the time of the kidnapping it is obvious the kidnappers had the master code.
* Alicia recounts the kidnapping as best she can, explaining that three men in red shirts walked up the stairs. They shot at her and she felt leaky, then fell down. She remembers two of the men dragging Gary out before everything went dark. Alicia borrows a cellphone to call her "boyfriend" Adam and arrange for him to pick her up. Her own cellphone is broken due to the magic used to revive her. Alicia promises to stay put until Adam comes. Some brief questioning reveals that the mystery phone number on Gary's phone belongs to Alicia's boyfriend, Adam.
* The investigators lock up the Lounge with Alicia inside, then drive over to 234 Crabtree Avenue, home of Eric McCullough. On the way, Sophia calls a former client of her's, a member of the Latin Kings - the gang that controls that area and who use the color red as their signature. She's told that McCullough lives in the garage, which has been converted into an apartment, and not the house itself. She's also told that McCullough is creepy and the Latin Kings leave him alone.
* At 234 Crabtree Avenue, Lucia charges right towards the side entrance of the garage apartment. Using her horse senses and her bond with her dog (who is in the truck with her), Pippa determines that there's someone inside - someone gagged and afraid. Longfellow determines there are no wards on the door. Lucia, not wanting to wait, picks the lock on the apartment door.
** Lucia rolled Burglary (+1) to pick the lock: +--+ for a total of +1. She boosts that to a +3. by spending a Fate Point to invoke her Curiosity Killed the Cat Aspect.
* Inside, the investigators see a cheap little apartment with a futon bed and crap furniture. They also see hundreds of pictures of Gary Schwartz plastered over the walls and ceiling. In the center of the room, duct taped to a folding chair, is Frank, Gary's current girlfriend. Longfellow stops the others before they move too far into the apartment.
** Longfellow rolls Lore (+1) w/ a +1 bonus for her Sight: ++OO for a total of +4. She feels the magical trap near Frank.
* Longfellow opens her Sight to see the magic. She sees landmines, like living brains, filled with razor blades of hatred and nails of jealousy in a circle around Frank. The landmines are one foot tall and go right up to Frank's feet. If Frank moves in any direction but straight up she'll set off the mines. The mines are designed to explode when anything with a mind touches them and they will do psychic damage to anyone in the room.
** The GM determines that interpreting the information is a +3 difficulty. Longfellow opens her Sight. She makes a Lore (+1) roll to decipher the image: +-++ for a total of +3. The image makes a Mental attack at +3: -+-- for a total of +1. Longfellow rolls her Discipline (+3) to resist: O+O+ for a total of +5. She has no problem closing her Sight.
* After some debate, the investigators decide that the best way to save Frank is to open the garage, move the furniture out of the way, back Pippa's truck right up to Frank and lift her straight up. This should allow them to bypass the mystic landmines. They do just that, managing to save Frank.
** Longfellow drives the truck. Her difficulty is +4. She rolls Driving (+3): OO-+ and spends a Fate Point to invoke her "A Different Job Each Week" Aspect for a total of +5. In the back of the truck, Sophia and Lucia each spend a Fate Point to create an "Assistance" Aspect. They give the tags to Pippa who rolls Might (+1): O-++. With the +4 from the tag her total is +6. She has no problem hauling Frank up. No more difficult than pulling up a bail of hay.
* With Frank out of danger, the duct tape can be removed from her mouth. She blurts out "Gary! He's going after Gary! He said they were going back to their first date! He had this big, ugly sunset red ruby and he's dragging Gary there and he's going to do something horrible to him!"
*Sophia examines the pictures of Gary on the walls and ceiling of Eric's apartment. She realizes that, while they seem random, they represent a timeline of Gary and Eric's relationship. And the site of their first date is... the Haunted Mansion at Disney World!
** Sophia rolls Scholarship (+4): -++O for a total of +5 to decipher the madman's collage.

GM Notes
* This was an adaption of the Neutral Ground adventure from Evil Hat. It was changed to reflect the accorded neutral ground (and owner of that location) of Orlando, FL.
* I also changed the landmines. In the adventure they form a dome but I thought something one foot by one foot by one foot that circled the kidnap victim would allow for non-magical solutions and give more than one way out of the problem.
* Alicia is a living Barbie doll. Her guts are a large but simple battery and a conductive fluid.