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Keepers Ruminations

First off apologies for the lateness of the updates. Life as ever has got in the way of this stuff, I never got around to doing the updates until today and I won't be able to post them until tomorrow. The reason for this is that I'm typing this in Lisbon the day after Rosa, the player of Lady Lautrec-De'ath and my long-suffering wife, did the Lisbon half-marathon and I don't expect to have an internet connection until I hit Amsterdam airport sometime tomorrow. On the upside it's gorgeous here and 28 degree weather is a blessing after leaving a freezing Scotland. Anyway back to the game.

After the lack of any real progress in the fourth session it was getting time for things to step up a bit. Of course this was reliant on the players and I was thankful that they seemed to agree. To be honest I wasn't expecting such interest in the caverns when I mentioned them in Finlaysons journal, the yacht club itself seemed to be the main area of interest, but I was hardly going to say no to the expedition and having nothing to find would go against the whole ethos of the campaign. I was a little concerned about Kalabos' player not wanting to participate but it became clear that his focus remained with the club and the character was very wary about delving into weird places. As if anything could possibly happen. In the end it was good to see plans for the yacht club proceeding.

The expedition into the caverns proved fun and a little scary for all concerned. After weeks of investigation and skirting around the edges of the mystery it was good to bring the monsters into the light. I stuck with only one deep one as less is definitely more and I didn't want to start off so big I would have nowhere to go afterwards. One thing that always annoyed me about Chaosiums adventures was the tendency to have shoggoths everywhere and I really didn't want to go down that route. That's not to say that we won't have one of them turn up at some point but not for a while yet. Unless I change my mind of course.

Once again I'm not totally comfortable with the combat system and felt like I was winging it a bit. As mentioned before it's very abstract and felt a bit awkward. On the other hand everybody seemed to enjoy it and it turned out to be nicely dramatic so I can't complain too much. I'll work on having it down properly for the next session.

As to the next session we're on a break for a few weeks. Last week was Paddy's Day so Irish Paul would have been in some dodgy pub drinking hard and though I'm back from Portugal tomorrow Rosa's staying until the end of the week to hang out with her family and the players want everybody there for the yacht club assault. I'm hoping to use the time to post a couple more bits and pieces for the game and hopefully do the Necronomicon stuff through this and the players blog. There will definitely be something else up by the end of the week.

BTW she did the half-marathon in 2hrs 31mins in a 28 degree heat. My girls is so cool and yet so hot.

I mean cool for doing it and hot for the temperature.

And hot in the other way as well of course.

Kalabos Chills with the Ho-bro's, A Life on the Ocean Wave, Dungeons and Deep Ones

Our heroes spent the night on the newly delivered yacht, Kalabos going out for a midnight stroll being warned by the yacht club security that the grounds were off limits when the club was closed, and woke for a hearty breakfast and discussion of their plans.

It was generally agreed that investigation of the caverns near Kingsport was a priority as burglary of the club would be best put off until the full moon in a couple of days time when the strange night-time van visited. If something was being picked up this would be their best time to find out what and if something was being picked up there may a distraction. Either way they new that the dogs weren't used on these evenings. With this in mind it was decided that they'd head out that very death
to unearth the mysteries beneath Kingsport.

Kalabos had other plans. Politely declining the opportunity to explore horror-laden depths full of sanity-blasting monsters he instead opted to contact his hobo friends to request help in the assault on the club. Grabbing some food from De'aths well equipped galley he headed into the town and met up with a group of hobos he had befriended earlier. Over boiled meat and hooch they arranged that the hobos would attempt to get in the front of the club on the night of the full moon thus creating a diversion whilst our heroes broke into the office via it's back door. Promises that they could keep anything they found and a possible stipend from De'ath secured their services and Kalabos proceeded to celebrate his bargain whilst his friends embarked on a journey into the depths.

Meanwhile Lady Lautrec-De'ath, Mr Dawson and Mr Shambles cast off in her well-crewed and equipped yacht. The Lady had her man clean and oil her Purdeys in case of danger and also made sure to take a stock of dynamite, Dawson spent this part of the journey sawing the barrel off a much cheaper shotgun and Shambles, well Shambles did whatever Shambles does. Who knows what goes on with that guy, though he did prove useful in identifying the most likely cavern mouth and revealed his previously unknown skills at piloting a boat. After a relatively short and uneventful voyage they anchored off the coast near an opening to the depths. Lowering a boat manned by four of De'aths strongest sailors they were soon at the mouth of the cave. Leaving instructions to wait an hour and that if they were in trouble they give give a signal of three whistle-blasts our intrepid trio ventured into the stygian depths.

The tunnel proved to be long, dark and ever leading downwards. At one point Shambles stepped in something that gave beneath his foot in an unwholesome way. Peering down he was hit by a rank stench as he realised he had stepped in the rotting corpse of a hobo. Choosing not to reveal his find to the rest of the party he led them around the remains.

Eventually the tunnel led out into a cyclopean chamber studded with seemingly bottomless pits scattered over the floor. De'ath took the lead here pushing forward until they came to a strangely stained altar over which a statue loomed. Casting her torch upwards she saw the statue was a of a squamous octopoid man-thing which seemed to gaze down with a look of vast malevolence. On closer inspection the stains on the altar proved to be human blood and shackles could be seen hanging from each corner. It was as she gazed upon this horror that the first sounds were heard. Scrabbling sounds as of claws on stone combined with some sort of low moaning coming from below. Something was emerging from the pits!

For moments confusion reigned as the scrabbling continued then our stalwart heroes decided on a truly brave action, they would flee. Tails between their legs they fled across the chamber heading for the tunnel that would lead to civilisation and safety. At this point Dawson realised that he had made a major error in character creation by neglecting to put any points in the flee skill as he began falling behind, dangerously behind. As they reached the tunnel the first of the pursuers caught up with Dawson and he was whipped around to face an unnameable batrachian horror. Walking on hind legs was a scaly creature with the blank-eyed stare of a creature from the depths of the ocean but it's features held a repulsive shadow of humanity and there was something reminiscent of Gardner about them. De'ath stopped for a second to unload both barrels of her shotgun at the creature, only managing to damage the tunnel wall, before running off leaving Dawson to deal with it alone.

Upon reaching the surface De'ath and Shambles finished setting up the dynamite which De'aths sailors had already unpacked hoping that Dawson would make it. Once it was set Shambles decided that they could wait no longer but De'ath could not bear to leave their companion to the horror below. A heated argument turned into a scuffle which, if Shambles won, could with Dawson trapped in the depths.

Meanwhile Dawsons struggles continued below. After a prolonged scuffle he realised that if he waited any longer the creatures companions would be on him. Unleashing the second barrel of his shotgun in its face he fled to the surface. Upon reaching the cavern mouth he was able to stop his companions unseemly fight and leaping into the boat they sped away as the dynamite exploded. But it was too late, as the explosion rocked the cliffs Dawsons nemesis leapt through it onto the boat it's claws slicing through a hapless sailor who fell screaming into the sea. Dawson had managed to reload his shotgun though and as the horror loomed over them he unleashed both blasts into it's face. The mighty shot blew the creatures face off splattering Dawson with brains and blood as it slid off the boat into the depths. Shaking with fear our heroes rowed back to the yacht and safety.

Back in Kingsport the companions met up with Kalabos for brandy, lots of brandy. After discussing the shocking proofs that they had witnessed they decided to report back to the Armitage Inquiry and ask for help. The board listened with interest to their tale and agreed something must be done. Unfortunately no physical aid could be given to the investigators as the board were of course only academics and the investigators had been hired for the just this type of thing. It was decided though that the companions would be given access to the Necronomicon in the hope that the unhallowed tome might give some clue on how to defeat the horror from the deeps. At this point our heroes decided it was time to take a couple of days off to recuperate and examine the Necronomicon before assaulting the yacht club on the night of the next full moon.

Keepers Ruminations

I'm running really late and as I'm off to Portugal in a couple of days I've a few posts to make.

This was an interesting session in that I feel we hit a wall that I'd been waiting for. The combination of investigative play with a freeform style feels like it will inevitably reach a point where the players are unsure what their next step is and the keeper not wanting to push them too much and this week was it. I generally felt we were left with the players still circling the mystery but unable to commit to an approach and me not wanting to push them onto a railroad.

Even then it was far from a bad session. Kalabos was getting more info and setting something up and the moving of the yacht was a clear step forward. Shambles investigations pushed towards the existence of mysterious caverns, perhaps the future burglary might lead to them.

My favourite from this session was Dawson though. We got to play with a few noir tropes and given how I felt it was it was great to push everything along a bit by having a man walk into the room with a gun. It also let me have my first proper look at the combat system which leaves me with mixed feelings. It's incredibly abstract which makes it fast but possibly unsatisfying. Saying that it felt really good for the ploty-led scuffle which occured in the toilet. It's doable at least.

I'll have the precis from the next session up very soon. I'm late but we're having a short break so I have some time.

Breakfast musings, down these slimy streets a man must stagger, casing the joint

Okay so I'm running a wee bit late this week so it's just a short precis.

Our heroes meetup the next day for brunch with Dawson who seemed to have got some of his old aplomb back. Over a light meal they decided that more investigation was needed of the yacht club, the supposed underground caverns and whatever the link was with Diamond Walsh.

Dawson went out to do what he did best and soon tracked down one of the local mobs numbers runners to put the squeeze on. With a bit of intimidation he found that reports were that Walsh had been acting very out of the ordinary and it was affecting his business. He seemed obsessed with his new wife and something called the red box which seemed connected to 'Azathoths Tears'.

Shambles headed to the university to study up on caverns in and around Kingsport. Study showed that whilst the immediate area under the yacht club shouldn't have extensive caverns underneath there were many unexplored ones in the area and that they probably reached all the way up to Innsmouth. Exploration of the caverns had been abandoned after too many disappearances and losses of life over the years.

Kalabos took the bus out to Kingsport to lurk near the yacht club and talk to the seedier locals. Talking to the lowlifes he learned that the club generally kept at least three men and a couple of dogs around the property at night except on nights of the full and half-moon when there was no sign of the dogs. On those same nights a van was seen to visit at around 0100 and either drop sommething off or deliver it, it was hard to say. As it's Thursday the 27th of June 1935 it's only a few days until full moon.

Lady Letrauc-De'ath contacted the yacht club to start arrangements for her yacht, The Scarlet Bell, to be taken over to it's new berth with a full crew and for the party to have dinner their that evening.

Before heading to the yacht club Dawson stopped into his office. On entering the first thing he saw was his secretary Nacny in a chair against the opposite wall. From beside him a rather dangerous looking and slightly effeminate man held a gun. Introducing himself as Dock Vogan he sat our hero in a chair, explained that Diamond Shaw didn't like two-bit PI's looking into his business and left, only stopping to give Dawson a good wap across his shins with a baseball bat.

Meeting up later at the yacht club our intrepid group sat down for dinner. De'ath and Shaw hammered out the details of haveing the yacht at the club. Gardiner was willing to have it permanently staffed but only on the proviso that any staff were to stay on the boat at night so as not to disturb the guard dogs.

Dawson learned that Diamond Shaw was on the premises and asked a passing waiter to forward a note,

Mr Walsh,

Thanks for the delivery. Point taken.
I was sorry to hear about your wife. Hope she didn't drink the tears.

S.D.

Kalabos proved unable to get into the private room Walsh was using but swore to find out more.

Nearing the end of the night Dawson saw a familiar figure enter the mens room and went after him. Hitting Volgan in the back proved to be succesful but Walsh was unprepared for his adversaries willingness to pull a gun and pistol whip him. The doubts he put into the mans head regarding Walsh's sanity may prove to be worth the subsequent kick in the ribs.

The evening ended undecided with Dawson choosing not to reveal what had happened.

The Journal of Lem Finlayson

Sitting up reading late into the night our doughty heroine Lady Lautrec-De'ath studied the journal of Lem Finlayson. As it's a rather long volume written in a crabbed hand by a man who clearly had very little literacy.

Hints were made at things he'd seen whilst a sailor. Abandoned islands in the Pacific and the strange idols left. He mentions meeting with degenerate islanders who worshipped a god called Dogn and having to fight them off when they attacked, surely for some sort of cannabilistic rotes.

In the twenties he seemed to be disturbed by the people of Innsmouth and hints at a relationship between them and the tribesmen. He implies that they have taken up the foul worship he saw in the tribesmen. When news of the of the government raid on the town came about a deep sense of relief is conveyed.

After retirement Finlayson shows a restlesness about his new role. Notes indicate that he came across the Kingsport Yacht Club and felt that there was a link to the worship he saw in earlier years. He is particularly worried about Gardiner. His last notes seem to hint of suspicions of some sort of secret cave beneath the club and a great plan involving some mobster. His last note indicates that he feels that he has met some allies and hopefully the menace can be stopped!

Keepers Ruminations

So the third session went quite well. I'm still not completely there with the system but the cheat sheets provided by Pelgrane Press helped a lot for all of us. The players are beginning to put forward ways of using their skills to gather clues which is definitely helping move the game along. I'm still a little concerned about combat, which is sure to come up soon, but it'll be alright on the night.

It's interesting that I felt that this session wasn't as well paced as the previous one but when I brought it up with the players they felt it was much better. Looking back I feel that this is because I had less control. As a player facing game they were the ones dictating the turn of events which meant that things never went in the pace that was in my mind. Interesting and good.

I'm amused that the players didn't do a couple of obvious things. As noted previously they haven't shot an obvious villain in the face, a regretable roleplaying staple, and they didn't immediately go for the breaking and entering option. I've run a lot of Call of Cthulhu over the years and the one thing I've found is that given the least hint of suspicion our investigatots will be jimmying locks like nothing. By contrast this group are building up to it slowly.

Finally let's talk about this posts picture. All keepers and GM's have stuff that comes up in every campaign often withought the realising. One of mine is the urchin. He's become such a stock character that I never even thought about it when he introduced himself withan "Ello what's up guv?". Right away Rosa cried out, "It's the urchin!" and it took 5 minutes for her and Irish Paul to explain the character to poor Martin who hasn't been in one of my games for years.

You see without it being a conscious thing the urchin has become a stock character for me. He's been around for years but really came to the fore in my last three year WFRP campaign where the characters learned to always check in with the first urchin they saw and always sent their post through UPS.

Anyway the picture above is because this urchin was called Wullie and they decided he was Our Wullie, had spike hair and wore dungarees. Despite only one of the players being Dundonian they couldn't help but go for a great Dundonian icon. My urchin will always be Oor Wullie from now on, look him up!