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Post by Monkeyfun Dave on Dec 24, 2017 10:14:41 GMT -8
I am about to be running a game series called "Context 9", using Fear Itself (which uses the Gumshoe System). mysticfedora and Probie Tim are two of my three players. Info and secrets will be posted here for overall discussion.
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fredrix
Master Douchebag
Posts: 2,142
Preferred Game Systems: Fate, L5R, Pendragon, Gumshoe, Feng Shui
Currently Playing: Pendragon, Song of Ice and Fire, L5R, Feng Shui, Traveller
Currently Running: Fate, Coriolis, Nights Black Agents
Favorite Species of Monkey: 1970's NTV, dubbed by the BBC (though The Water Margin beats it)
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Post by fredrix on Dec 24, 2017 12:24:51 GMT -8
Very interested to see how it goes.
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Post by Monkeyfun Dave on Dec 24, 2017 12:27:17 GMT -8
Originally I was considering doing it in Night's Black Agents but it seemed like overkill and not quite the genre I was looking for, I wanted it more open-ended.
It is not a GM Secret when I say the goal is to provide a Call of Cthulhu experience about a mythos that is *not* Lovecraft. Anything I say moving forward will probably be a GM secret, so if Tim or Chris are reading beyond this, you're just hurting yourself. :-)
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Ed from Minnesota
Apprentice Douchebag
Professional Gaming Slut
Posts: 56
Preferred Game Systems: See status.
Currently Playing: What is... "playing?"
Currently Running: Shadowrun, D&D 5th, Torg via Savage Worlds, HERO, Gurps One-Shots, CoC One-Shots
Favorite Species of Monkey: Monkey See. No wait... Monkey Do. Doo?
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Post by Ed from Minnesota on Dec 24, 2017 17:29:11 GMT -8
What if Earth was reality prime, and all other realities are break-offs that are trying to capture/influence it? Your 'things that should not be' therefore are 'monsters' that are trying to gain access to earth, and spells are their way to do so. They are therefore trying to pass along texts to get people to summon them over, as this is their only way to directly interface with the prime reality. This may give them power, and even if banished back they could go back much stronger than when they came over. Monsters would thus bargain for power, either through trade or by slaughter (spells would reflect intention, and specialization).
So your heros could be characters trying to stop a specific monster that has sent over a number of summoning spells, or could be dedicated to a larger premise of stopping a number of creatures trying to come over. And there could be a group dedicated to bringing the things over, of course...
After all, how much more powerful would creatures be on Earth Prime? And what could they offer to creatures from Earth Prime? And teaching someone how to use their inherant power may come across as giving them something they didn't have before.
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Post by Monkeyfun Dave on Dec 30, 2017 11:57:00 GMT -8
As a start, this is Tim's character introduction as an "alternative medicine doctor".
+++++++
Not everyone gets to smoke out with a killer.
Among your many roles and side hustles, filling out prescriptions for medicinal marijuana is usually the easiest way to score a few bucks both in the script and the supply. Used to be you could score an easy grand when they first made it legal but now? Hell, everybody in town is writing out prescriptions for “anxiety” and “insomnia”. That’s why the call from a big-name attorney totally caught you off-guard, providing you the medical records for his client unnamed. Seemed pretty straightforward though - fourth stage pancreatic cancer in a seventy-five year old male, and pretty advanced by the look of the bloodwork, poor bastard. They paid you a consultancy and sent you on your way.
Then came the subpoena. It caught you off-guard, that’s for sure. You hadn’t done anything lately. Only when you sat down in the witness stand did you realize the subject of those X-rays - Edward Allen Maddox. Sheeeeeeit. That’s the Charlie Manson wannabe that killed all those people in the early 70’s, or was it 60’s? Hell, how is he still alive, anyway? Doesn’t matter, you were brought in to provide your medical opinion for a change. Consultancy fee or not, your diagnosis would be the same - yes, cannabis would limit the side effects of the cancer in the most efficient and cheap method for the state to implement. Are these people kidding? Ya gotta love California.
But there’s always a catch - You were required to personally witness the intake of the medicinal marijuana in the maximum-security facility. Still, the money was pretty good and all you had to do was sit in the private facility and watch him smoke a joint or two. At first, yeah it made your asshole pucker. Even in his 70’s, Maddox had a stare that felt like it bore into your soul like a hammer to the brain. Those first visits were intense, no doubt about it. Even handcuffed you felt like there was always a moment he could just reach out and pluck out your eyes or something. But after a few weeks, something about Maddox started to mellow out in your presence. Maybe it was the bud, or maybe he realized you weren’t a cop after you took a hit or two after an offered joint. Oh you weren’t friends, but he didn’t think act like you were a threat. Sometimes he’d even strike up conversations about bands - Moby Grape, Cadillac Grande, the Doors. Man he liked the Doors. You knew you shouldn’t bring up the White Knights, considering the supposed connection between their music and the killings, but he would bring up their albums from time to time. Nothing too creepy, but always like he wanted to say something a little bit more. Something he was holding back.
Then the weird visit, the one you remember vividly. In one of your visits, he asked if you were really a doctor. You didn’t want to argue about the specifics so you said yes. He then lifted up his shirt and asked you to check the stent in his abdomen. Out of your normal expertise, but sure. It’s just a stent. Looked clear to you, no doubt about it. While lowering his shirt, he muttered, “Yeah, that’s how the bitches are gonna say I go out. Something to do with that fucker. Won’t be true, man. Won’t be true. She’ll tell ya.”
“She?”
Then he stopped talking and the stare came back. You knew you just fucked up seriously but you didn’t know how. “Get the fuck out of here before I cut your dick off.” You didn’t need to be told twice, you left as fast as you could and called the lawyer on the way to your car. Fuck doing that anymore.
Three days later, you saw it on the news. Edward Allen Maddox was dead, from a blocked stent. And you knew it was bullshit. Pure. Bullshit. You’re no genius but… no. Didn’t that happen that way. That stent was clean and unblocked. But that’s just what he said they were going to blame it on.
Since then, you’ve noticed business has been very slow. Word got out that you were the “drug doctor” for Edward Maddox and you’ve heard crummy things about you were circulating on social media (some true, some not). Really easy for people to have morals and standards when they don’t have a house payment. That’s when the Rhodes Corporation contacted you for a short-term consultancy for $100,000. Hey, money’s money.
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Post by Monkeyfun Dave on Dec 30, 2017 14:13:26 GMT -8
Photo of Maddox's cell, which Tim will be seeing in the beginning of the first game. ** UPDATE - Prop discovered Game Session #1 **
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Post by Monkeyfun Dave on Dec 30, 2017 14:18:28 GMT -8
In contrast, Christopher will be playing an ex-cop. This is what he got:
++++++++++++++++++
Three months ago, your last case was a possible homicide at the home of Timothy White, musician formerly of the 1960’s group, the White Knights. When you were called in, the crime scene was a very strange set-up - White was lying in the middle of the living room, naked surrounded by candles while his stereo was playing “Angie” by the Rolling Stones on an endless loop.
His ribcage and abdomen had been ripped open, with his heart pulled from his chest, the connecting tissue and muscles still extended from inside his body to the organ lying in front of him. His own hands were covered in blood, and the edges of the chest wound looked like he was clawed open (no clean edged cuts to the entry wound).
During your search of the house, White had a lot of weird things as decorations, his library was mostly old books that you’ve never seen before. The rich. They’re always batshit. But what really caught you off guard was a wall in the living room that had writing on the wall. Possibly blood, you didn’t get a chance to test it. It said “My gift to you, Aja’tarra”. You took a picture of it, and logged it as evidence.
As you continued processing the scene, Captain Castillo arrived, which is peculiar - There’s no reason for the watch captain to arrive at a crime scene. He cleared the scene, and despite your protests, wiped the wall clean. This naturally goes against every protocol and instinct you know, and when you started to vehemently argue about the ethics of his action, he immediately relieved you from duty.
Three days later, there were two ramifications from this case:
You were reprimanded and put on administrative leave, due to suspicious charges of arriving at the crime scene intoxicated. You have no idea who reported these obviously false allegations (you’ve been working the 12-Step program for quite while), but because of procedure, you were being investigated by Internal Affairs. You found out secondhand that Timothy White’s death was ruled as natural causes. Because obviously it’s natural that you die when your heart is pulled from its ribcage.
Because of both of these things, you decided to forget this crap and leave the force. You didn’t know for sure what you’d do but you’ve finally hit your breaking point. It’s not unknown for homicide detectives to finally hit that point where they’re tired of the bullshit. Maybe going into security or possibly get your teaching credentials, you’re not sure. That’s when the Rhodes Corporation contacted you for a short-term consultancy for $100,000. For the money, you’re willing to do it.
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Post by Monkeyfun Dave on Dec 30, 2017 14:19:47 GMT -8
And this is the photo he took at the crime scene, which will be given back during the first game by the Rhodes Corporation. ** UPDATE - Prop discovered Game Session #1 **
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D.T. Pints
Instigator
JACKERCON 2018: WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY June 22-July 1st
Posts: 2,857
Currently Playing: D&D 5e, Pathfinder, DUNGEONWORLD, Star Wars Edge of the Empire
Currently Running: DUNGEONWORLD, PATHFINDER
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Post by D.T. Pints on Dec 30, 2017 14:46:25 GMT -8
I like the images! Fear Itself does a great job of creating horror without having the system get in the way...CoC can be too clunky a fiddily with rules minutiae sometimes. I’m a big fan.
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Post by Monkeyfun Dave on Dec 30, 2017 17:35:52 GMT -8
I like the images! Fear Itself does a great job of creating horror without having the system get in the way...CoC can be too clunky a fiddily with rules minutiae sometimes. I’m a big fan. This is my first attempt at a Gumshoe game, but it definitely feels pretty straightforward for what I want it to do. The first series of this particular chronicle used D20, which was a pain in the shorts. It was really easy to move it into the Gumshoe system, however. And thank you about the photos. I tend to make a lot of props for games I can plan for. In Magnificent Bastards, Bill's character (Fantomas) was hazy about his background and identity which kept changing through gameplay. The Pinkertons had lured him in by promising him the identity of a man in a provided picture. The picture was an old photo of a husband and wife with their infant child, which had Bill's face photoshopped in. He didn't show it to anyone else, but it was driving his motivations. I suspect Bill wanted to know who they were in order to kill them. I am currently working on the obituaries for some of the characters mentioned, and may actually give Tim a real recording of the White Knights (which are a cross between the Beach Boys and early Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett era). God help him if he listens to it.
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Post by akavidar on Dec 30, 2017 19:14:16 GMT -8
I have Nights Black Agents and Trail of Cthulhu, but haven't seen Fear Itself. It will be nice to see how you like it.
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blydddreug
Apprentice Douchebag
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Posts: 69
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Post by blydddreug on Dec 31, 2017 9:33:09 GMT -8
I dig the White Knights tie-in for both characters! I'm curious what the third character's story will be...
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Post by Monkeyfun Dave on Dec 31, 2017 16:51:02 GMT -8
This is a shrunk down version of the write-up on the White Knights themselves. They're a stand-in for the Beach Boys, with some unfortunate associations.
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Post by Monkeyfun Dave on Jan 1, 2018 15:04:02 GMT -8
A lot of these things are if they decide to pursue the background before the shenanigans start. Like if they decide to investigate the company that hired them, they'll get directed to this: ...which will be placed inside a magazine on my coffee table. I will then direct them to whatever page I stick this in. stu says I prep too much, he's probably right.
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Post by kurtpotts on Jan 2, 2018 12:10:44 GMT -8
I'm loving the white papers. I've been tempted to set up little dummy sites for games set in modern day, but "Ain't nobody got time for that."
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