The Last Few Horror Runs!
Jan. 28th, 2012 05:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
realsorienI've not been able to write at work, and probably won't in the future, so my writing up of the adventures is sort of at a standstill. I do have the notes for a few Traveller runs to type in, but the notes I had on the last Horror run... Were scant. At best. They were SO scant that the GM was winging it more than usual! Worse, given that my laptop has a bad lead between the screen and the body, I'm not bringing it to games- at least not til its fixed. (If you close the laptop, the screen won't relight til you get JUST the right position- thus, bad connection)
So. this is a somewhat quick summary of what happened to Our Heroes last time. Ben, who plays Roy, was unable to attend, to he got fiat-ed to his 'employers at MIB. Our other heroes are:
Bill Vicklin- Up and coming monster hunter. Bill is a little crazy, and getting worse as things go darker and darker for him and his friends. He has a longcoat with an enchanted pocket that he can store disturbing amounts of ordinance within, and the uncanny ability to use ANY form of firearm.
Jackie Tall- A woman with dwarfism, Jackie has gained the ability to raise the dead, in additiuon to her other telepathic abilities. This is eroding HER sanity and self control, and she may eventually become the 'Evil Queen' in truth rather than just fantasy.
Greg Poulte- A motorcycle wrencher and biker, Greg is an on-again, off-again Buddist and full-time martial artist. He currently has the spirit of Doctor Beck within him, and the good doctor is showing him how to manipulate reality to a limited extent- Doctor Beck is so skilled at this he can teleport himself and likely even move through time. However- Greg's mind isn't attuned to this, and the stresses could kill him.
- Are we seeing a trend here?
Lastly, the absent member- Roy Smith. Roy is a junior member of MIB. Yes, the thing from the movie, but real. He was trapped in the Abyss for many years, until he sort of just wandered out when the others were trying to seal a portal they'd inadvertently opened! Since then he's reconnected with his employers, but his loyalties are terribly torn- help his friends, or do his job? Both choices have a price.
As seen in previous episodes, Our Heroes have been trapped in a dark, horrific future where the Vampires have taken over, initially through political maneuvers and more directly in the 'current' time. two-thirds of the population of the world has been turned or killed outright, and the remainder is living as it things were normal... Sort of. They're preyed on relatively freely, and many are kept in 'secret' blood farms. There are underground groups against the vampires, but... They haven't had much luck.
Into this mess Our Heroes have been dropped, and they've been doing their best to survive... Which is, not all that well. In their most recent misadventures, Bill found the hideout of their old friend Lazlo down in the shifting tunnels beneath Arkham- Lazlo is long dead by this time, but his AI, Emily, is still there- looking like a crappy 80286 laptop and left behind by his killers.
With Emily as assistance, he got back on his feet and managed to coordinate getting himself and his friends regrouped- they'd been separated by their attempt to contact MIB. Roy stayed there, Doctor Beck got flashy-thinged, freaked out and ran, and Greg and Jackie were captured. They were sent cross-country but their minds were still fine, and they made their way back.
Eventually, the crew was gathered at Mad Akbar's. Bill had just arranged with Akbar for help, and the price was to pop the bubble over Boston! Notably, this is NOT something a college student is likely to be able to pull off... But Bill is willing to try. The only missing bit is Doctor Beck, who is still missing at this point.
More misadventures happen, with Greg going out for Mountain Dew for Roy and spotting Doctor Beck- long story short, Beck ends up comatose, maybe worse. Bill saves his life by using components from Emily, promising to restore her, but he won't wake up.NOW their greatest asset once again has been taken away, though through Jackie's intervention he's not going anywhere, spiritually.
Its decided to take up the cause and they contact the allies Greg and Jackie made... Only to find the cell was compromised and is gone. There was a mole, and with their headlong flight to Boston the cell was taken out- security has been tightened around the bubble generators as well.
They end up back with Akbar, discussing the situation. Akbar's information turns out to be inaccurate, and they need better intel. (At this point I KNOW things are missing, but roughly this is accurate on the whole) Their discussions with Akbar are interrupted, however, by the arrival of a women who Akbar... Acts deferentially to. What the hell?
She's an agent of the Red Court vampires, who are in control of the whole shebang. She's effectively collecting protection... Blood? From him. He goes back to fetch the payment, Bill already in back drinking Turkish coffee.
As is the routine with Our Heroes, things go pear shaped. The woman recognizes Jackie and confronts her, and a fight breaks out. Naturally, things go bad, Greg and Bill getting slapped around. Bill gets a clean shot to drive a stake into her heart from behind, but she shrugs it off, saying, "That's BLACK Court." She casually tosses him across the room slamming him with numbing force into the wall.
The action proves to be her undoing, as Bill is pretty tough, AND a fanatic. He fast-draws his assault rifle from his pocket, aims and fires. His full-auto shots rip through the woman, cutting her clean in half. Victory!
...Well, No.
Greg through most of this had been 'piloted' by the ghost of Doctor Beck, who has used a combination of Greg's martial arts and his ability to screw with reality to keep Greg whole. Greg, himself, is watching the action in his head, in a movie theater created by the good doctor. Jackie... Decides to use her powers against the vampire, and loses control once again. Just as Bill is slammed into the wall, the power rips out and the dead begin to rise. LOTS of dead. They tear the corpse of the woman to tiny bits, then Jackie looks at the people in the shop- none are vampires, so she goes into the street. Every vampire she spots ends up as bloody rags.
Bill slumps to the floor, and shortly passes out from the injuries he's sustained. Greg follows Jackie, still watching the 'show' in the 'movie theater'. Doctor Beck doesn't seem to be around anymore.
You could easily argue, neither does Jackie.
After dozens and dozens of vampires are slashed to tiny, unidentifiable bits, Jackie comes back to herself. With some doing, she manages to send the dead back to their rest. Greg approaches, now back to himself, and both of them are horridly spattered with blood. Looking at where they are, they decide to go to the nearest familiar and likely safe place- the diner. Best pie in the world at the end of the world!
They talk, being served despite the bloody state that they're in. Greg finally notices the blood, and goes to the restroom to clean up. He realizes that people have been staring at them for some time...
A shotgun comes out, and the sound of other weapons being cocked is heard. The mob asks if they had anything to do with all the vampires being slaughtered, and after some hemming and hawing they have to fess up- they look like they've been running through a lawn sprinkler spraying blood, after all. It turns out this IS a safe place- another resistance cell uses it as a contact point!
More allies, but for how long?
Bill wakes up. he's on a metal table, and its VERY dark. He freaks, drawing a weapon without any real thought, until Akbar turns on the light. Its Akbar's kitchen, and Bill is on the table. There is discussion about the events, and Akbar is even more wanting things to get dealt with. Bill agrees, and is willing to go it alone... If his friends don't come back. Akbar's place is no longer safe though, not really- Akbar has to explain this, and fortunately he can say it wasn't just him; LOTS of vampires bit it this night, pun intended.
A call is made by Greg, and Bill is brought to the Diner. A secret passage is opened, and they end up in the steam tunnels under Arkham University. NOT the shifting tunnels, though Greg knows where the access is. They talk things through, forgetting that Emily's location is likely compromised and decide to return to her with the juryrigged repair Bill has assembled for her. It doesn't take long, and they find the place dark. Too dark. The lights were on before.
A moment later, little red dots appear on people- laser sights! The vampires have found the hideout, and their leader is... Bill's lost brother, James.
The standoff lasts seconds; and Bill shows that he has a grenade- he means to bluff for time, nothing more, but James isn't James anymore, not really. Bill is shot down in a hail of gunfire. However, this HAS pulled the guns off the others, and the rebels go to the attack! It might be futile, but they do kill five vampires before the end. During the melee, Jackie is captured and Greg... Hears a voice.
"Greg." Its Blue! "Come this way."
And in the confusion, Greg escapes. Bill is dead, not that that is a real hindrance, Jackie captured.
When Bill comes to, he's NOT in Boston as with the last time. Its New York. He naked as usual, and he manages to scrounge clothes and reading glasses fairly quickly. Some more scrounging, then he finds a relatively safe place to hole up. "So what now, Boss?" he says.
Asmodeus appears, and the pair have a less than friendly conversation. Asmo taunting, Bill being disrespectiful; the end result is he gets popped to Nome, Alaska by his so-called patron! He knows another 6 souls have been taken to keep him alive... And hates the fact. He starts to scrounge, as it is COLD here- the entire town was depopulated years ago by the vampires, and is now a lost, frozen ruin. He gets clothes, a snowsuit, and starts gathering weapons. Asmo threatens to leave him there, but Bill blows the threat off- he knows if he has to he can get elsewhere, no matter how hard it might be. Its not like death is an impediment.
Greg wakes after a nap in the tight passage he's in. It seems to be an air duct of some sort, and after talking with Blue (and telling Blue to leave, which he does), Doctor Beck makes himself known once again- he'd gone into hiding to keep safe from Jackie's calling of the dead! As he's a spirit, he counts.
The Doctor starts to instruct Greg on how to do the strange effects that Doctor Beck can do, starting with teleportation. Its all equations- all Greg needs to to is alter the equations enough to represent his being in a different place than he is currently. Unless Greg relinquishes control of his body, Beck can't apparently do it himself- something about being dead is a problem.
With Beck's help, Greg is suddenly at a sunny resort in South America. He has a drink in hand, and is able to relax... Other than his strange and distracting conversations with Beck. Hours go by, and he asks if there is a hotel nearby- there is, and he gets a room. He's felt Jackie being worked on by the vampires, and he knows time is limited. He also knows that these powers just might be enough to accomplish their mission to de-bubble Boston!
He decides first that getting Bill is his first target- If he screws up, Bill will come back. However, it takes time to locate Bill in the equations- hes NOT in Boston like all the other times! But over hours, Bill is finally located and brought to him- looking wild, shaken and dangerous. At least he has clothes.
The pair discuss matters after Bill gets cleaned up, and the next thing to do is get Jackie.
Can our Heroes rescue their friend?
Can they destroy the bubble over Boston and fry the Vampires in sunlight?
Will they FINALLY get home??
Tune in next time!
So. this is a somewhat quick summary of what happened to Our Heroes last time. Ben, who plays Roy, was unable to attend, to he got fiat-ed to his 'employers at MIB. Our other heroes are:
Bill Vicklin- Up and coming monster hunter. Bill is a little crazy, and getting worse as things go darker and darker for him and his friends. He has a longcoat with an enchanted pocket that he can store disturbing amounts of ordinance within, and the uncanny ability to use ANY form of firearm.
Jackie Tall- A woman with dwarfism, Jackie has gained the ability to raise the dead, in additiuon to her other telepathic abilities. This is eroding HER sanity and self control, and she may eventually become the 'Evil Queen' in truth rather than just fantasy.
Greg Poulte- A motorcycle wrencher and biker, Greg is an on-again, off-again Buddist and full-time martial artist. He currently has the spirit of Doctor Beck within him, and the good doctor is showing him how to manipulate reality to a limited extent- Doctor Beck is so skilled at this he can teleport himself and likely even move through time. However- Greg's mind isn't attuned to this, and the stresses could kill him.
- Are we seeing a trend here?
Lastly, the absent member- Roy Smith. Roy is a junior member of MIB. Yes, the thing from the movie, but real. He was trapped in the Abyss for many years, until he sort of just wandered out when the others were trying to seal a portal they'd inadvertently opened! Since then he's reconnected with his employers, but his loyalties are terribly torn- help his friends, or do his job? Both choices have a price.
As seen in previous episodes, Our Heroes have been trapped in a dark, horrific future where the Vampires have taken over, initially through political maneuvers and more directly in the 'current' time. two-thirds of the population of the world has been turned or killed outright, and the remainder is living as it things were normal... Sort of. They're preyed on relatively freely, and many are kept in 'secret' blood farms. There are underground groups against the vampires, but... They haven't had much luck.
Into this mess Our Heroes have been dropped, and they've been doing their best to survive... Which is, not all that well. In their most recent misadventures, Bill found the hideout of their old friend Lazlo down in the shifting tunnels beneath Arkham- Lazlo is long dead by this time, but his AI, Emily, is still there- looking like a crappy 80286 laptop and left behind by his killers.
With Emily as assistance, he got back on his feet and managed to coordinate getting himself and his friends regrouped- they'd been separated by their attempt to contact MIB. Roy stayed there, Doctor Beck got flashy-thinged, freaked out and ran, and Greg and Jackie were captured. They were sent cross-country but their minds were still fine, and they made their way back.
Eventually, the crew was gathered at Mad Akbar's. Bill had just arranged with Akbar for help, and the price was to pop the bubble over Boston! Notably, this is NOT something a college student is likely to be able to pull off... But Bill is willing to try. The only missing bit is Doctor Beck, who is still missing at this point.
More misadventures happen, with Greg going out for Mountain Dew for Roy and spotting Doctor Beck- long story short, Beck ends up comatose, maybe worse. Bill saves his life by using components from Emily, promising to restore her, but he won't wake up.NOW their greatest asset once again has been taken away, though through Jackie's intervention he's not going anywhere, spiritually.
Its decided to take up the cause and they contact the allies Greg and Jackie made... Only to find the cell was compromised and is gone. There was a mole, and with their headlong flight to Boston the cell was taken out- security has been tightened around the bubble generators as well.
They end up back with Akbar, discussing the situation. Akbar's information turns out to be inaccurate, and they need better intel. (At this point I KNOW things are missing, but roughly this is accurate on the whole) Their discussions with Akbar are interrupted, however, by the arrival of a women who Akbar... Acts deferentially to. What the hell?
She's an agent of the Red Court vampires, who are in control of the whole shebang. She's effectively collecting protection... Blood? From him. He goes back to fetch the payment, Bill already in back drinking Turkish coffee.
As is the routine with Our Heroes, things go pear shaped. The woman recognizes Jackie and confronts her, and a fight breaks out. Naturally, things go bad, Greg and Bill getting slapped around. Bill gets a clean shot to drive a stake into her heart from behind, but she shrugs it off, saying, "That's BLACK Court." She casually tosses him across the room slamming him with numbing force into the wall.
The action proves to be her undoing, as Bill is pretty tough, AND a fanatic. He fast-draws his assault rifle from his pocket, aims and fires. His full-auto shots rip through the woman, cutting her clean in half. Victory!
...Well, No.
Greg through most of this had been 'piloted' by the ghost of Doctor Beck, who has used a combination of Greg's martial arts and his ability to screw with reality to keep Greg whole. Greg, himself, is watching the action in his head, in a movie theater created by the good doctor. Jackie... Decides to use her powers against the vampire, and loses control once again. Just as Bill is slammed into the wall, the power rips out and the dead begin to rise. LOTS of dead. They tear the corpse of the woman to tiny bits, then Jackie looks at the people in the shop- none are vampires, so she goes into the street. Every vampire she spots ends up as bloody rags.
Bill slumps to the floor, and shortly passes out from the injuries he's sustained. Greg follows Jackie, still watching the 'show' in the 'movie theater'. Doctor Beck doesn't seem to be around anymore.
You could easily argue, neither does Jackie.
After dozens and dozens of vampires are slashed to tiny, unidentifiable bits, Jackie comes back to herself. With some doing, she manages to send the dead back to their rest. Greg approaches, now back to himself, and both of them are horridly spattered with blood. Looking at where they are, they decide to go to the nearest familiar and likely safe place- the diner. Best pie in the world at the end of the world!
They talk, being served despite the bloody state that they're in. Greg finally notices the blood, and goes to the restroom to clean up. He realizes that people have been staring at them for some time...
A shotgun comes out, and the sound of other weapons being cocked is heard. The mob asks if they had anything to do with all the vampires being slaughtered, and after some hemming and hawing they have to fess up- they look like they've been running through a lawn sprinkler spraying blood, after all. It turns out this IS a safe place- another resistance cell uses it as a contact point!
More allies, but for how long?
Bill wakes up. he's on a metal table, and its VERY dark. He freaks, drawing a weapon without any real thought, until Akbar turns on the light. Its Akbar's kitchen, and Bill is on the table. There is discussion about the events, and Akbar is even more wanting things to get dealt with. Bill agrees, and is willing to go it alone... If his friends don't come back. Akbar's place is no longer safe though, not really- Akbar has to explain this, and fortunately he can say it wasn't just him; LOTS of vampires bit it this night, pun intended.
A call is made by Greg, and Bill is brought to the Diner. A secret passage is opened, and they end up in the steam tunnels under Arkham University. NOT the shifting tunnels, though Greg knows where the access is. They talk things through, forgetting that Emily's location is likely compromised and decide to return to her with the juryrigged repair Bill has assembled for her. It doesn't take long, and they find the place dark. Too dark. The lights were on before.
A moment later, little red dots appear on people- laser sights! The vampires have found the hideout, and their leader is... Bill's lost brother, James.
The standoff lasts seconds; and Bill shows that he has a grenade- he means to bluff for time, nothing more, but James isn't James anymore, not really. Bill is shot down in a hail of gunfire. However, this HAS pulled the guns off the others, and the rebels go to the attack! It might be futile, but they do kill five vampires before the end. During the melee, Jackie is captured and Greg... Hears a voice.
"Greg." Its Blue! "Come this way."
And in the confusion, Greg escapes. Bill is dead, not that that is a real hindrance, Jackie captured.
When Bill comes to, he's NOT in Boston as with the last time. Its New York. He naked as usual, and he manages to scrounge clothes and reading glasses fairly quickly. Some more scrounging, then he finds a relatively safe place to hole up. "So what now, Boss?" he says.
Asmodeus appears, and the pair have a less than friendly conversation. Asmo taunting, Bill being disrespectiful; the end result is he gets popped to Nome, Alaska by his so-called patron! He knows another 6 souls have been taken to keep him alive... And hates the fact. He starts to scrounge, as it is COLD here- the entire town was depopulated years ago by the vampires, and is now a lost, frozen ruin. He gets clothes, a snowsuit, and starts gathering weapons. Asmo threatens to leave him there, but Bill blows the threat off- he knows if he has to he can get elsewhere, no matter how hard it might be. Its not like death is an impediment.
Greg wakes after a nap in the tight passage he's in. It seems to be an air duct of some sort, and after talking with Blue (and telling Blue to leave, which he does), Doctor Beck makes himself known once again- he'd gone into hiding to keep safe from Jackie's calling of the dead! As he's a spirit, he counts.
The Doctor starts to instruct Greg on how to do the strange effects that Doctor Beck can do, starting with teleportation. Its all equations- all Greg needs to to is alter the equations enough to represent his being in a different place than he is currently. Unless Greg relinquishes control of his body, Beck can't apparently do it himself- something about being dead is a problem.
With Beck's help, Greg is suddenly at a sunny resort in South America. He has a drink in hand, and is able to relax... Other than his strange and distracting conversations with Beck. Hours go by, and he asks if there is a hotel nearby- there is, and he gets a room. He's felt Jackie being worked on by the vampires, and he knows time is limited. He also knows that these powers just might be enough to accomplish their mission to de-bubble Boston!
He decides first that getting Bill is his first target- If he screws up, Bill will come back. However, it takes time to locate Bill in the equations- hes NOT in Boston like all the other times! But over hours, Bill is finally located and brought to him- looking wild, shaken and dangerous. At least he has clothes.
The pair discuss matters after Bill gets cleaned up, and the next thing to do is get Jackie.
Can our Heroes rescue their friend?
Can they destroy the bubble over Boston and fry the Vampires in sunlight?
Will they FINALLY get home??
Tune in next time!
