Wednesday Night Game Report - a|state Session 2
Ah, the first gaming blog post that I'm writing for 2015. :)
As noted in last year's journal entry (haha, I had to write that line, didn't I?) :) elsewhere, I gamed with the Wednesday night group last night, as they started their a|state RPG campaign finally. You can read about the previous game session in this journal entry. Since this post is quite long, I've put it behind a cut for those who don't want to read about the roleplaying game campaigns that I'm running.
CHARACTERS
Belinda Koretz (Donna Winston) - Stringer
Farimar Timberbush (David Winston) - Ex-Mikefighter
Hannah Overwater (Kendall Scott) - Lostfinder
Mist 9th, 995
The game session begins in the Folly Hills Times offices, a second-rate newspaper in the area, where stringer Belinda Koretz is being berated by her boss, Hammond Jones, about her low-key stories of late and the fact that she's not bringing anything good in. He tells her that if she doesn't find a decent story soon, he'll either fire her or put her on "garbage detail" - digging up facts and figures for some of his top stringers. A disillusioned Belinda heads for her watering hole, the Dead Scurt, and starts to drown her sorrows. She overhears one of the patrons, Hamish McIntee, bemoaning the fact that his daughter, Kaylee, has gone missing. She inches closer to him, hoping to hear more.
Farimar Timberbush is on his way to one of the local eateries on Flaspers Street, when he sees an acquaintance of his, the lostfinder Hannah Overwater, in conversation with someone. The conversation seems to be somewhat heated, and Farimar edges closer, thinking that Hannah might be able to use his help. He recognises the man she's talking with as Hiram Wendworth, a local merchant with a shady reputation, and Wendworth shouts at her to leave him alone. Farimar sees Wendworth signal several of his men/thugs to deal with the lostfinder, and he moves over to Hannah's side. When he asks what's going on, Hannah tells him that she's been hired by one Maperland to find his missing son, and that Wendworth might know something about it. Three of Wendworth's hired muscle approach the pair, and it doesn't look good.
Back in the Dead Scurt, Belinda cozies up to Hamish, and learns something about the disappearance of his daughter, Kaylee. She was returning from schooling (apparently she's a bright thing) when she was "snatched" by a couple, a man and woman, wearing beggar's rags. McIntee tells her the names of the two witnesses who saw the whole thing, Japers and Flegg, and that they were last seen at the Green Canal. Belinda thanks him for his time, tells McIntee that she'll do the best she can to find his daughter, and heads for the canalside area. Asking questions of several people, she learns from one of her dockside contacts, a mudlark named Hesperis Jones, where Japers and Flegg can be found - a low-life bar called the Amber Teats. She heads in that direction, not relishing the thought of having to go into the unsavoury place on the docks.
Farimar and Hannah confront Wendworth's thugs, and the lostfinder wastes no time taking down one of the men with some dirty fighting tactics and abusing his lower body regions. Meanwhile, Farimar defends himself against the other pair, but not before using a handy screwdriver to impale Wendworth's hand to a nearby fencepost, as he wants the merchant to stick around and answer questions when things are "resolved". Between them, Farimar and Hannah leave his thugs unconscious or running for cover, the whole time the merchant screaming in pain and cursing the ex-mikefighter for his actions. Applying some pressure to the screwdriver, Farimar is able to force Wendworth to admit that the missing child is one of several that he saw in Mire End, and that Garsey Hatchett's Hohler Gang crew might be involved. Hannah believes he's telling the truth, as he seems scared and in enough pain that he's got no reason to lie to them. Hannah says that they need to figure out what they're going to do, as if the Hohlers are involved they may be out of their depth. The two decide to retire to the Dead Scurt for some inspiration.
Belinda Koretz approaches the dive known as the Amber Teats with misgivings. It's a bar and tavern that caters to dockside workers, jakes, mudlarks, and other low lives, and that has prostitutes that a sane man wouldn't want to be involved with. She enters the place, which immediately goes quiet. The barkeep, Fergal Scottrind, asks what she wants, and she says she's looking for a couple of muckers, Japers and Flegg. A pair of brawny looking lads tell her she's found them, and she says she wants to talk to them, offering them her stock of nebelweed that she carries with her in payment. The two agree, and the three sit down at a booth against the wall. They confirm what they had originally told McIntee, but add that they think that the two 'snatchers were working for the Hohler Gang, just by some of the mannerisms they displayed. Needless to say, they didn't stick around to confirm ids.
At the Dead Scurt, Farimar and Hannah arrive just in time to hear McIntee telling his tale of woe one more time. McIntee spots the lostfinder, and asks her if she'll take up his cause; he doesn't trust the second-hand stringer [Belinda Koretz] to get the job done. Hannah says she'd ordinarily have to decline, but since she's investigating one snatched child, she might as well get a whole flock of 'em and tells him she'll take the job. When McIntee tells her what he told Belinda, the two decide to head for the Amber Teats; Farimar says he's never heard of the place, and Hannah says she's not surprised. She leads Farimar out of the Dead Scurt, and they head for the canalside.
As Belinda emerges from the Amber Teats, she decides to head back to the Dead Scurt, tnd talk some more to McIntee if he's still there. As she walks down the nearest shadow-infested, dimly lit street, she hears the sound of many feet approaching her. Confronted by several ruffians with knives and pipes, Belinda is afraid she's bitten off more than she can chew...
One of the things I wanted for the Wednesday night gamers was an a|state plot that was relatively simple, that would show a certain side of The City and its underworld, and that would "involve" the characters right off. I've done the disappearing children plot in various game systems before, but... Several of the folks reading my LiveJournal may recognise the basic framework of this plot, and that's no lie. I borrowed the plot from one of the basic blog entries that a friend knightbane posted up about playing in a game, but have added a few details to it, and fleshed some elements of it out. As they say, using plots that others post is the best form of flattery in roleplaying gamer circles! :)
I can't tell you how happy I was to get to run this game session of a|state on New Year's Eve. :) The Wednesday night gamers hadn't really gotten to start the a|state campaign, though they had played through the samples of combat session that I usually run, and all three players were chomping at the bit to start the a|state game in earnest. The game session went pretty well I thought, and the players are interested and intrigued by the plot that I've got them involved in. Kendall and Donna are thrilled to be involved in something with such social and moral aspects to it, and David told me that he's surprised at how easy he "fell into" the storyline, coming to Kendall's character's aid. All three are looking forward to more a|state goodness in 2015, and so am I!
As noted in last year's journal entry (haha, I had to write that line, didn't I?) :) elsewhere, I gamed with the Wednesday night group last night, as they started their a|state RPG campaign finally. You can read about the previous game session in this journal entry. Since this post is quite long, I've put it behind a cut for those who don't want to read about the roleplaying game campaigns that I'm running.
CHARACTERS
Belinda Koretz (Donna Winston) - Stringer
Farimar Timberbush (David Winston) - Ex-Mikefighter
Hannah Overwater (Kendall Scott) - Lostfinder
Mist 9th, 995
The game session begins in the Folly Hills Times offices, a second-rate newspaper in the area, where stringer Belinda Koretz is being berated by her boss, Hammond Jones, about her low-key stories of late and the fact that she's not bringing anything good in. He tells her that if she doesn't find a decent story soon, he'll either fire her or put her on "garbage detail" - digging up facts and figures for some of his top stringers. A disillusioned Belinda heads for her watering hole, the Dead Scurt, and starts to drown her sorrows. She overhears one of the patrons, Hamish McIntee, bemoaning the fact that his daughter, Kaylee, has gone missing. She inches closer to him, hoping to hear more.
Farimar Timberbush is on his way to one of the local eateries on Flaspers Street, when he sees an acquaintance of his, the lostfinder Hannah Overwater, in conversation with someone. The conversation seems to be somewhat heated, and Farimar edges closer, thinking that Hannah might be able to use his help. He recognises the man she's talking with as Hiram Wendworth, a local merchant with a shady reputation, and Wendworth shouts at her to leave him alone. Farimar sees Wendworth signal several of his men/thugs to deal with the lostfinder, and he moves over to Hannah's side. When he asks what's going on, Hannah tells him that she's been hired by one Maperland to find his missing son, and that Wendworth might know something about it. Three of Wendworth's hired muscle approach the pair, and it doesn't look good.
Back in the Dead Scurt, Belinda cozies up to Hamish, and learns something about the disappearance of his daughter, Kaylee. She was returning from schooling (apparently she's a bright thing) when she was "snatched" by a couple, a man and woman, wearing beggar's rags. McIntee tells her the names of the two witnesses who saw the whole thing, Japers and Flegg, and that they were last seen at the Green Canal. Belinda thanks him for his time, tells McIntee that she'll do the best she can to find his daughter, and heads for the canalside area. Asking questions of several people, she learns from one of her dockside contacts, a mudlark named Hesperis Jones, where Japers and Flegg can be found - a low-life bar called the Amber Teats. She heads in that direction, not relishing the thought of having to go into the unsavoury place on the docks.
Farimar and Hannah confront Wendworth's thugs, and the lostfinder wastes no time taking down one of the men with some dirty fighting tactics and abusing his lower body regions. Meanwhile, Farimar defends himself against the other pair, but not before using a handy screwdriver to impale Wendworth's hand to a nearby fencepost, as he wants the merchant to stick around and answer questions when things are "resolved". Between them, Farimar and Hannah leave his thugs unconscious or running for cover, the whole time the merchant screaming in pain and cursing the ex-mikefighter for his actions. Applying some pressure to the screwdriver, Farimar is able to force Wendworth to admit that the missing child is one of several that he saw in Mire End, and that Garsey Hatchett's Hohler Gang crew might be involved. Hannah believes he's telling the truth, as he seems scared and in enough pain that he's got no reason to lie to them. Hannah says that they need to figure out what they're going to do, as if the Hohlers are involved they may be out of their depth. The two decide to retire to the Dead Scurt for some inspiration.
Belinda Koretz approaches the dive known as the Amber Teats with misgivings. It's a bar and tavern that caters to dockside workers, jakes, mudlarks, and other low lives, and that has prostitutes that a sane man wouldn't want to be involved with. She enters the place, which immediately goes quiet. The barkeep, Fergal Scottrind, asks what she wants, and she says she's looking for a couple of muckers, Japers and Flegg. A pair of brawny looking lads tell her she's found them, and she says she wants to talk to them, offering them her stock of nebelweed that she carries with her in payment. The two agree, and the three sit down at a booth against the wall. They confirm what they had originally told McIntee, but add that they think that the two 'snatchers were working for the Hohler Gang, just by some of the mannerisms they displayed. Needless to say, they didn't stick around to confirm ids.
At the Dead Scurt, Farimar and Hannah arrive just in time to hear McIntee telling his tale of woe one more time. McIntee spots the lostfinder, and asks her if she'll take up his cause; he doesn't trust the second-hand stringer [Belinda Koretz] to get the job done. Hannah says she'd ordinarily have to decline, but since she's investigating one snatched child, she might as well get a whole flock of 'em and tells him she'll take the job. When McIntee tells her what he told Belinda, the two decide to head for the Amber Teats; Farimar says he's never heard of the place, and Hannah says she's not surprised. She leads Farimar out of the Dead Scurt, and they head for the canalside.
As Belinda emerges from the Amber Teats, she decides to head back to the Dead Scurt, tnd talk some more to McIntee if he's still there. As she walks down the nearest shadow-infested, dimly lit street, she hears the sound of many feet approaching her. Confronted by several ruffians with knives and pipes, Belinda is afraid she's bitten off more than she can chew...
One of the things I wanted for the Wednesday night gamers was an a|state plot that was relatively simple, that would show a certain side of The City and its underworld, and that would "involve" the characters right off. I've done the disappearing children plot in various game systems before, but... Several of the folks reading my LiveJournal may recognise the basic framework of this plot, and that's no lie. I borrowed the plot from one of the basic blog entries that a friend knightbane posted up about playing in a game, but have added a few details to it, and fleshed some elements of it out. As they say, using plots that others post is the best form of flattery in roleplaying gamer circles! :)
I can't tell you how happy I was to get to run this game session of a|state on New Year's Eve. :) The Wednesday night gamers hadn't really gotten to start the a|state campaign, though they had played through the samples of combat session that I usually run, and all three players were chomping at the bit to start the a|state game in earnest. The game session went pretty well I thought, and the players are interested and intrigued by the plot that I've got them involved in. Kendall and Donna are thrilled to be involved in something with such social and moral aspects to it, and David told me that he's surprised at how easy he "fell into" the storyline, coming to Kendall's character's aid. All three are looking forward to more a|state goodness in 2015, and so am I!