Rev. Pee Kitty

Click here for the campaign/character summary.

Queen Ingrid stumbled across a perfect hive, recently abandoned. It seemed too good to be true, but beggars can't be choosers, so she moved her people in . . .

In her mother's Chancel (the pocket dimension where each family of Nobles lives), Jada came across an intruder. When she tried to follow him, he confronted her with a smile, and handed her a message. "Your mother need never know about this . . ."

Ryan came home and tried to sneak upstairs without being seen. But an older man was there with news. Ryan was off to a children's center to take part in a study! His parents were happy to have the extra money, as long as Ryan was back by the 1st, when the welfare man came around . . .

Arelious' (he hates titles) Secretary of State and right-hand man brought him a diplomatic pouch -- the first ever received by Sylvania! Exciting! They were inviting His Majesty to come negotiate. "For what?" Well, that wasn't clear, but they can hardly turn down their first invitation . . .

The three humans met up with Evelyn Carter, an older black woman in a smart pantsuit. She spoke English and German fluently, and was happy to translate between Arelious and the two Americans -- but as she led them out into the garden, she talked about everything except why they were all there. She stopped to retrieve a bee from the outdoor hive, then kept walking. By the time anyone realized something was odd, they were in a place outside of reality. Jada was very angry and suspicious and began grilling her, but Evelyn deflected most of the questions. Suddenly, she stroked a brooch and they were all in agonizing pain.

"Sorry about that. But it makes it much easier for me to explain what's happening now." Everyone realizes that they can understand each other (even the bee). The three humans then freak out that they can understand a talking bee. Evelyn explains that an Imperator was recently slain in the war for Creation. That left a hole in reality, which is apparently being filled by a new Imperator forming right now. But it has to be shepherded into existence properly or it could form . . . "wrong." And no one wants that. She implied that the Imperator contracted forces and those forces contracted her, but left it otherwise vague. It was this Imperator that just gave them all the Gift of Tongues -- but currently, that's the absolute limit of its power.

When asked why them, Evelyn replied, "All I know is that your destiny is interwoven with the destiny of this Imperator. It is your dharma to do this. You have free will and can refuse, but going against your dharma is usually a very bad idea. Especially if this Imperator forms 'wrong' and decides that the bond it shares with you needs to be . . . severed." Shudders and threats abound. Evelyn hands them a jewelry box with seven clear marble-sized spheres in it.

"The Imperator needs the energy of Creation to form within it. Each sphere can absorb one facet of reality. You must choose which facet. Each must be an important person, event, situation, or so on -- it has to matter.

"The sphere of Heaven absorbs Justice. Seek out justice being done, and take it. Justice will be not only miscarried, but it ensures that no one involved will ever have the justice they deserve.

"The sphere of Hell absorbs Injustice. Find something unjust, take it, and it will become impossible for it to not feel the repercussions of its karma.

"The sphere of the Light absorbs Life. Not only will it prevent someone from being born, but it will make it so that the place in the universe that life would have occupied will never be filled.

"The sphere of the Dark absorbs Death. Take this, and something shall live eternally, denied forever the right to pass on.

"The sphere of the Wild absorbs Freedom. Whatever you take this from can never be free, in any sense of the word.

"The sphere of the Serpents absorbs Stability. With this stolen, something or someone becomes undecided, unstable, in constant flux.

"And the sphere of the True Gods absorbs Existence itself. Gone. Not just now, but so it had forever been, as if it never existed. Take care with this one."

She gave them her phone number and explained that she had worked out a deal to answer questions, but that if they asked too many questions or not enough, the Imperator owed her favors. (How many is "just right?" The contract specifies that she doesn't have to say.) Then she left.

Jada didn't want anything to do with stupid Nobles or stupid Imperators and left, but eventually decided that it wasn't worth the risk and returned. In the meantime, the other three made plans. Arelious knew that there must be someone on trial right now who was worthy of both sentencing and of a second chance -- through a near-miraculous use of his Passions, he found one. He thinks. (There's always that uncertainty.) A man in France who killed a husband who was abusing his wife. They decided to load everyone (and the hive!) into Arelious' plane and fly to France to look into it.

I've been waiting for a chance to try out this new Nobilis, Third Edition system. I was a huge fan of Second Edition. So far, this version is written a little more ADHD (it jumps around a lot), but the rules are clearer, the revised attributes are far more balanced, and the new Bonds and Afflictions rules are ridiculously awesome. So that's my mini-review of the new edition. Now, on to...

Nobilis

GM: PK
Players: Ben, Chris, Kaytee, and Samjo

The General Concept and Setting

It's today and the world is where you live. Except you can only see a small fraction of it. Everything has a spirit, a driving force, a dharma -- for example, your car actually takes you to work each day because it considers that basic maintenance on a human, necessary to get you to feed it yummy fuel. When you peel back the curtain far enough, the world is build up of concepts. Big concepts, like Childhood, Beauty, Truth, and Imagination, and smaller concepts, like Vehicles, Insects, Terror, and Being Ostracized By Your Peers. The sum of these concepts is embodied in the form of primal Spirit Things called Imperators. Some are angels, some are manifested light, some are serpents 250 miles long. All are needed to keep reality safe from the Things from outside of Creation that would destroy it. So they stay in the spirit realm and fight a war. That means they don't have any time to stick around on Earth guarding the physical realm.

That's why they invented Nobles.

A Noble used to be a person. (Or an animal. Or a thought. Or a toaster. All that matters is that he used to be something mundane.) Then an Imperator took a little piece of reality -- one of those building blocks -- and shoved it inside of the poor guy. One day, he's Alex Serrano, electrical engineer. The next day, he's Alex Serrano, the Noble of Imagination. And now he has to do what his Imperator asks, while also guarding, promoting, and caretaking Imagination on Earth. Oh, and sometimes one of those Things from outside Creation slips through into the physical realm, and Alex might have to deal with it, even though it's one of the few things that can totally kill a Noble. Fortunately for Alex, Nobles can work miracles as easily as you or I can get on Facebook, so that's a plus.

The Concept from the PCs' Perspective

At the beginning of the game, the PCs are just normal, mundane folks. And, in fact, they're going to stay that way for a while. The players all know that eventually they're getting enNobled, but their characters have no clue. All they know is that they've been brought together for strange reasons and have gotten stuck in an odd situation.

The Player Characters

Arelious Schmidt, Hero-King of Sylvania (Ben): A peasant from a tiny, independent kingdom somewhere east of Bavaria, that was ruled by an oppressive king. The regime had APCs, tanks, machine guns, and troops to use them all. Arelious had a sword. Using a mix of guerilla tactics and motivational speaking (to rally others to his cause), he managed to bring down the king and free the people. They immediately elected him their leader, to his surprise. He isn't very good at running things, but he's chosen a council he can trust to help him with that job. What he really wishes is that others would step up and realize they can do this far better than he could, if they'd only believe in themselves. (And yes, Sylvania used to be famous for their televisions. It's a long story.)

Arelious Schmidt, Noble of Impossible Victories (Ben): Arelious hasn't yet realized that this is his destiny.

Queen Ingrid, Exiled Bee Monarch (Samjo): Let's be clear here: Yes, she's a bee. Not a humanoid bee thing -- an actual, little bee. Anyway, Ingrid was at the center of a bloody war in her hive. Another queen had been born, and as a hive can only have one, brother began killing brother in defense of each side. Ingrid retreated rather than dying, and about a quarter of the hive managed to follow alive. Now she leads them from place to place, looking for a hive of their own; every day they go without one is a day closer to the death of her people.

Queen Ingrid, Noble of Fear (Samjo): Ingrid hasn't yet realized that this is her destiny.

Jada Young, Reclusive Teen (Kaytee): Unusual among the group in that she is familiar with the Nobilis and their war. Several years ago, her mother Carolyn was chosen to become the Noble of Motherhood. Unfortunately, in that one move, Jada went from being an only child, to being literally one child among billions. She withdrew and harbored resentment toward her mother, toward Nobles, toward Imperators, you name it. She began spying on everyone around her, looking for a way to fix her situation one way or another; in the meantime, she's accumulated a great deal of blackmail on others.

Jada Young, Noble of Secrets (Kaytee): Jada hasn't yet realized that this is her destiny.

Ryan Newman Tucker, Abused Child (Chris): A 10-year-old boy from the extreme back woods of northern Georgia. One of 11 children, he and his siblings are nothing but a meal ticket to their parents. They go to school then come home, aren't allowed to have friends, and are only gussied up when the DFCS stops by to make sure everything's okay. (The teachers keep reporting that something's wrong, but the kids won't say anything.) Ryan is usually too shy (from years of beatings) to speak, so he carries around Captain Teddy, who "speaks for him," figuratively.

Ryan Newman Tucker, Noble of Childhood Dreams (Chris): Ryan hasn't yet realized that this is his destiny.

Just a quick note as to what's going on, and why I haven't updated the game in a bit.

Our group has had to reshuffle significantly. Necroscope is now going to bimonthly (on average). So the updates for that will be further spaced out.

However, I'm starting two new games: A Nobilis campaign and a Mutants and Masterminds campaign. So I'll be chronicling those as well, too. If you're only interested in one or two of those, note that I do tag all of my entries:

gameplay: All game-recap posts (plus minutia like this).
necroscope: Anything related to my GURPS Necroscope game.
nobilis: Anything related to my Nobilis (Third Edition) game.
mnm: Anything related to my Mutants and Masterminds (Third Edition) game.

Click here for the campaign/character summary -- including Ander (Brad's new PC).

(No, I'm not getting lazy or forgetful! It's just that Week 4 was an ultra-short session -- basically just mission setup -- due to real-world issues, so it made more sense to wait and roll it into Week 5's entry.)

Ardonius, Chazz, and Rajat returned from the break, to be told that Trevon was taking an extended sabbatical to sort out the conflicts between his faith and his duty. Paul told them that they'd be partnering up with Ander -- the American photokinetic psychotronics engineer (who fancies himself a footballer) from upstairs. The mission? Drugs, especially coke, have been flooding Greece lately. Customs is sure it's been coming in from the ocean, but they've been stepping up their searches like crazy and can't find anything. Last week, a ship that had already been searched without issue (while still two miles out) was accidentally searched again (pulling into the docks) due to a clerical error, and it was full of coke. How is this happening? Greece turned to MI-6 for assistance, who turned to E-Branch.

The team, minus Ander, flew to Greece and met Emmanouēl "Manny" Papadopoulos, their liaison to Greek customs/police. He showed them the confiscated boat and Rajat took an EWD reading on it, detecting very faint traces of astral-related energy, but not from any known Astral Projection ability. The boat carried a load of coffee and tobacco, with 200 lbs. of coke found (during the second search) in the middle of some of the barrels. Manny was sharp enough to notice that the team was using meditation and sensitivity while investigating, and mentioned that he was a man of faith and belief in such things himself.

The next day, Ander arrived, and he first hit the boat to follow up on Rajat's EWD readings. At the same time, Rajat crawled down into the (nasty!) access crawlspace under the hold to make sure there was no secret airlock leading up to the boat. Unfortunately, Ander's overconfidence led him to pump far more power into the EWD than it was designed to handle, and it blew up while scanning the Astral Plane -- sending a load of astral energy directly down and into Rajat's mind, knocking him out! Fortunately, Ardonius thought to check on Rajat, pulled him out, and revived him. Embarrassed, the team moved on to interrogate the prisoners.

With the help of Chaz' Suggestion, they convinced the crew and captain (one at a time) to leave their lawyers in the other room, and got some details. Apparently, the crew believed that the coke was somehow "hidden by the spirits" until a ritual (led by the captain) involving some of the tobacco and coffee was performed. The captain (under Suggestion) transcribed the ritual for them phonetically; he didn't understand exactly what it was or what it does. No one understood the language, but Ander thought that it resembled something religious, almost like a Catholic Mass. (It wan't in Latin, though.) The team also learned that the captain works for the Nyombe, a crime syndicate based out of Ghana (in Africa), and that there are five other Nyombe boats running drugs into Greece that he knows of. He provided names (of people and boats), which the team passed on to customs for targeting, and mentioned that vans from Vdokis delivery company usually pick up the contraband.

Rajat suggests trying the ritual to see if anything happens. (Because that's always safe, right?) The team heads back to the hotel room and piles up some dirty laundry on the floor, then sprinkles the coffee and tobacco around the pile and recites the chant. There's a weird energy in the air, but no one's sure if it's real or just their expectations; either way, nothing seems to happen. They decide to try tracking things from the Vdokis end, looking for the warehouse. Chazz calls his drug dealer back in England, who gives him tips on what a drug processing operation would require. The team splits up, with Chazz and Ardonius working with Manny to narrow down which Vdokis warehouse might have drugs in it, while Rajat and Ander investigate the seized cocaine for psychic residue.

Chazz, Ardonius, and Manny head to public records to look at the blueprints of every Vdokis warehouse, to see which might have a room that would be perfect for secretly processing drugs. They narrow it down to two very likely suspects. Manny asks Chazz, "Look, I've noticed the way you have with people. Do you think you can convince the judge to give us a warrant on such flimsy evidence?" and Chazz is sure that he can, so Manny calls for an emergency warrant procedure (as it's after hours) and starts speeding toward the courthouse. Halfway there, he gets a page. Then another page. (Remember, it's 1980!) So he stops and uses a pay phone to call the base. The psis don't hear the whole conversation, but it ends with Manny pulling out his pistol (though not pointing it at them), approaching the car, and ordering their hands up, NOW. Confused, they comply, and Manny angrily demands, "Where did your two friends take the cocaine?!"

Ardonius and Chazz are flustered and confused. They don't know anything! Manny goes onto explain that Ander stayed in the car while Rajat went down to the evidence room. While down there, there was a coincidental short that exploded the fuse box to that floor, shutting down cameras. Rajat got scared and left the evidence room (though he was patted down quickly) then left the station. When power was restored, Ander and Rajat had driven away and the coke was gone! Ardonius and Chazz knew that either could've arranged an electrical problem, and Ander's behavior was consistent with using Photorefraction to steal stuff, but why? "Don't we need to focus on the warrant," Ardonius asked. "Without the evidence, we have no case!" Manny angrily replied, handcuffing them and racing back to the station.

In the meantime, that's exactly what happened -- Rajat and Ander were driving off with a trunk full of the coke. (Ander had followed Rajat in, invisible. Rajat shorted out the fuse box with Coincidence, and they both walked out -- Rajat empty-handed, Ander with the coke.) They drove to the top of a cliff, and scattered the evidence into the ocean. A cop spotted them, so they ran to cover, used Ander's ability to disappear, then used Rajat's Wild Talent (for Housekeeping) to destroy any evidence on themselves. They returned to the hotel, and were shortly arrested and thrown in a cell with Ardonius and Chazz.

Rajat's first words: "Chazz, I need you to mind-control me. Force me to tell you the truth, because otherwise you will not believe that I am." Chazz does, and Rajat and Ander explain that when Ander blew up the EWD, the astral-energy surge that hit Rajat allowed some sort of spirit to possess him. From that moment on, he was still himself, but with the overriding urge to steal the coke and scatter it into the ocean. When they learned the ritual, Rajat's spirit-side led it, allowing another spirit to possess Ander! The instant they accomplished their mission, the spirits fled their bodies, leaving behind a sense of profound gratitude and relief. Unfortunately, that led to the current situation.

With everyone confused and pending charges of grand theft, evidence tampering, and possibly drug trafficking, we ended the session. :)

Click here for the campaign/character summary.

(Yeah, it's been a while since the last update. I took a break for some personal time and to run a Kill Puppies for Satan two-shot. Warning: We made up for lost time, so this is a long one!)

Interrogating the Russian (now in custody) helped the group realize that one of the witnesses at the scene was very likely an exoteleporting abductor. They began interviewing the witnesses on their own, using Chazz's Suggestion in the least invasive way possible (suggestion: "Answer every question I ask you honestly and fully"). One witness (Greg) lives in a crappy "flat" made from a converted basement. He's not home, and the group doesn't have Honesty, so they decide to snoop a little. (A deadbolt is great against most people, but not a telekinetic like Ardonius!) Rajat sneaks inside, but wakes Greg's very large and angry dog and barely makes it back to the door in one piece. Chazz tries to suggest to the dog but fails, so Ardonius catches it in mid-air and puts it in a choke hold until Chazz can succeed at calming the best.

That danger out of the way, Chazz stays outside to keep the dog calm while Ardonius and Rajat explore the apartment to find . . . absolute horror. The baseboard on Greg's bed is decorated with childrens' skulls, each flecked with dried gore and with the words "NOT ME" carved into the forehead. The kitchen is littered with chewed femurs, fed to his dog, and a meat grinder with gods-knows-what in it. And the back room has a freezer that locks from outside, the top of which has a painted pentagram and lots of dried blood. The shackles attached to the side are obviously to hold a victim in place. Ardonius is stoic, but Rajat nearly vomits and has to turn away.

Suddenly, Chazz hears voices -- someone's returning! He sends the dog inside and has it shut the door. Rajat hears this and uses Coincidence to have the main fuse (for the flat) blow, turning off all the lights they turned on; he and Ardonius hide. Greg has returned! Chazz immediately Suggests that Greg is a fan of his music, and tells him that he's here following up with local fans, picking a few to go have a beer with. (Hey, it's the best he could come up with on short notice!) It works, but just barely, and he and Greg hit a pub down the street. The others know they'll need a warrant, so they grab a femur, leave the apartment, and then put it in the furnace (right outside Greg's basement "flat") and scorch it a little. While they're doing this, Chazz tries to get Greg to volunteer a little too much information and Greg manages to throw off his control and escape out the bathroom window (a small window, but he's skinny and flexible).

The team tells the police about the femur they "found" in the furnace and the constable confirms it, then obtains a warrant. Rajat and Ardonius (the two tech-savvy ones) are worried that Greg will 'port something into or out of the apartment (or himself!), so they disassemble their psychotronic EWD and cobble together a crappy but functional anti-psi field out of the wiring in Greg's flat. The warrant comes, and the cops enter. Over the new few hours, the sick details come out, and Rajat pieces together details that suggest Greg is ritually eating the hearts of children who resemble him (red hair, etc.) every month, on his birth day, because he believes it will prevent him from aging. Unfortunately, as he does this, he critically fails a psi roll and sets up a feedback resonance with the anti-psi field that drives the team out the flat . . . and sets the side of the flat building on fire. The fire dept. comes out and the cops are not happy, but they explain it as having replaced a blown fuse with whatever they had, and they're (barely) not arrested for arson.

But where's Greg? No one can find him. They try a few things to no avail, and then are contacted by the Russian prisoner. Smelling a trick or trap, only Chazz and Trevon talk to him; Rajat and Ardonius stay outside the area, using the Russian's own EWD to monitor psi activity. The Russian tells them that his team has Greg now! (How? Good question.) And they're willing to trade: Greg for him (the Russian).

Ardonius and Rajat can tell that the Russian has an astral projector in the cell with him and is in contact with a telepath -- and think they can track the Russian team down this way! So Chazz uses his gift for gab to keep the Russian (and his astral and telepathic friends) busy and distracted, while the two drive through the city trying to triangulate the origin signal. That's nearly impossible to do, but Rajat is a mathematical wizard, so he pulls it off with some impressive, Probability-Alteration-boosted rolls. Taking on the Russians is risky, but at least they have the element of surprise!

Except that the Russian prisoner figured out what was going on and warned his friends to expect a trap. So now the three of them are on the third floor of a fancy hotel, prepared to slaughter the two E-Branch agents. When the agents start walking down the hallway, using the EWD to narrow down their search, they spot the Russian ergokinetic. Ardonius quickly TK-ties his shoelaces together, before the Russian turns off all the lights! It's nighttime and the curtains are drawn, leaving the hallway pitch black! Fortunately, the next sound is that of the Russian falling on his face from the shoelaces. He kicks his shoes off, but Ardonius races to him before he can get up and they engage in a deadly wrestling and bludgeoning match until Ardonius manages to knock him out; in the meantime, Rajat (not a fighter!) rips the window curtain down so they'll have light.

The moment there's light, however, the Russian telepath (at the end of the hall, waiting) Mental Blows Rajat, stunning him. He tries to stun Ardonius several times, but fails, and he and the astral projector open fire with silenced pistols. Rajat uses Second Chance to dodge bullets while charging one, but is taken down in a hail of bullets. Rajat is mortally wounded, and lays there, dying. Ardonius uses TK Crush to destroy the inner workings of the guns while taking cover. One gun jams and one explodes, blowing the fingers off the telepath. The projector drops his broken gun and attacks him skillfully, but Ardonius parries and All-Out Attacks to the Russian's skull, dropping him with one (lucky!) shot. The telepath runs, but Ardonius TK Bullets the shrapnel from his own gun into his legs and he falls, unconscious.

Ardonius (the only one standing) calls the police station and tells Trevon to get here NOW. He, Chazz, and half of the cops and EMTs do. Trevon just barely manages to Cure Rajat back from being mortally wounded, and stabilizes the Russians. They find Greg tied up in a bathtub in the Russians' room. The other agents smuggle (the healed) Rajat out of the area quickly to avoid questions, and send him back to London. They then answer questions, wrap things up, and mock the Russian in his cell for setting up an ambush and still losing. When the team gets back, E-Branch debriefs them, is incredibly grateful, and tells them all to take a well-deserved week off.

Warning: I'm not much of a photographer. Also, these were all taken on my phone, not with a nice camera. Still, a picture's worth a thousand words, so each of these has to be worth at least a few hundred, right?

Click here for my after-con report and details!

Chell, from Portal

Blake, from Children's Hospital

Dream and Death (of the Endless), from Sandman

Princess Fiona, both versions, from Shrek

Discworld wizard with a whiskey flask in his hat

Flying Spaghetti Monster

John Stewart, the Green Lantern

A closeup of GL - the flash made his emblem glow!

Cute green girl - don't know the character

A gaggle of Hulks - Hulk Hogans, that is!

Joker McDonald - the best costume at the con, for my money

Sexy kitty girl

Sally Jupiter (my friend Paige)

A parrot with a pirate on its shoulder

Not in costume - just a pretty girl

Dr. Doom and female Silver Surfer

Umbrella Corps members

Ghostbusters girl

Paul and Storm - talented and hilarious openers for JoCo

Molly Lewis - JoCo's second opening act

Jonathan Coulton - what a great show!

JoCo brings out Paul and Storm for a few songs

Jefferson Starship performing

DJ Nemesis' rave about to start

And the rave is underway!

At the bottom of the Hyatt, some members commandeered a conference room for a dance party!

My friends Ben, Chris, and Rob

Me at a Savage Worlds game

Samjo on Friday

Samjo on Saturday

Closeup of the previous pic

We hit Five Napkins Burgers after the con for sushi and burgers

Our last pic in Atlanta before heading home

I just got back from an amazing Dragon*Con. Here's a quick recap, compressed as tightly as I can make it:

Thursday: Rev. Bob and I checked in at the hotel and spent all day Thursday working Registration (if you work 25 hours for the con, you get in free). It was actually fun, as I got to talk to everyone as they first showed up, excited for the times to come! Our friend Paige was crashing with us tonight (only), so I stayed up with her and Rev. Bob, then her and Samjo (who showed up late), talking about goofy shit and finding hilarious ways to get her into trouble with her boyfriend.

Friday: Worked another full shift at Registration (till 10pm). After eating, we caught the Voltaire concert. He was great! Funny, dark, and very entertaining all around. For those who don't know him, let's just say that his latest CD is entitled "Riding a Black Unicorn Down an Erupting Volcano While Drinking From a Chalice Filled With the Laughter of Small Children." After Voltaire, I hit the gaming area and ran some Munchkin Zombies till tired.

Saturday: Since this wasn't a work day, I did a lot -- mainly concerts and music -- so I'll break this one up. First, we hit the main dealer room (there are three, all huge). Then . . .

Jonathan Coulton: JoCo was at D*C for the first time this year! He had two opening bands. Paul and Storm were absolutely hilarious -- their songs were great, but the guys themselves were just witty as hell and kept up such a great patter with the audience. Unexpectedly, Frank Conniff ("TV's Frank") then came out and did some crappy standup and a song -- he got heckled pretty badly, and deservedly so. Then Molly Lewis, a cute girl with a ukulele, was the second opener; she was decently geeky but nothing special. Finally, JoCo himself put on an amazing show. He did a mix of crowd favorites and stuff from his new album (most of it very good!), and even did both "Want You Gone" and "Still Alive" (from the two Portal games). He closed with a cover of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" by TMBG and a song I didn't recognize called "I Feel Fantastic."

Freezepop: Yeah, the bubblegum-synthpop guys from Guitar Hero. They were great! They had a higher energy level than 95% of the bands I've seen live, and the crowd was literally jumping. I ran into a group of crazy strangers who were running around dancing like crazy, and I joined in because that's pretty much my style. Let's just say that by the end of the concert one of the strange girls had stripped me half-naked and I was part of a 20- to 30-person dance mob. Very kickass time.

Rave with DJ Nemesis: I know DJ Nemesis from Tampa clubs, and he's got great taste. His music tends to have a darker/gothic edge ("grave"), but he also broke out the geeky stuff (e.g., chiptune house) and some standard dance and dubstep. I danced my ass off here, especially to old Ministry and Depeche Mode, and found a few people with a similar style with which to bust a move. We stayed for about an hour or so -- after that, I was a bit tired, and some friends I was waiting for hadn't shown, so we called it a night.

Sunday: Another non-work day, but focused more on gaming and goofiness (after hooking up with my friends Ben and Chris) instead of music. First, I sat in on a game to evaluate the GM as potential "Men In Black" material (he passed). Then . . .

Roleplaying: My friends scored me a spot in a Savage Worlds game where we were anti-heroes united against the Puppetmaster, a bad guy so evil that we looked good by comparison. I was sort of an "anti-Captain America." The plot and setup were really weak and video-gamey, but the other players made the whole thing a lot of fun. We won, but only because the GM was too much of a pussy to let us lose. :)

Intermission: After the game, we ate, then tried to hit a "Dub Your Own Hentai" panel, but it was so full that the line to get in if somebody inside left wrapped around the hallway! Crazy. So instead, we explored the lower levels of the Hyatt and played around with PA systems and access hallways until our friends Paige and Josh called to meet us at . . .

Jefferson Starship: I was looking forward to this concert, because I was into Starship when I was really young (like 7-10 years old). Sadly, they didn't have the extra people that made them "Starship," and only did their stuff from the 60s and 70s. (Yes, I know most people consider that their best stuff. I don't. Accept this.) Also, their sound tech sucked and their amps were too hot and overmiked, so our ears hurt. The band was still pretty amazing, despite some members being frighteningly old.

Amusing Ourselves: We left JS when our ears couldn't take any more treble, and went back down into the Hyatt underbelly. Someone had commandeered one of the conference rooms and turned it into a rogue dance party, via a creative combination of built-in PA and an iPod, so we rocked that for a bit. Then I found a roll of pallet-wrap (think "Saran Wrap" on steroids), and Chris wrapped the four of us up in it! We hopped and shuffled back to the dance party (they cheered) then throughout the entire Hyatt. Up an elevator, into the cosplay area, then onto an escalator (scary!), then finally out the huge revolving door at the front (scarier!) -- everyone was laughing, pointing, and taking pictures. It was a blast. After that, we split into two, with Ben, Chris, and me heading to Gaming for a session of Deluxe Illuminati. Then, sleep.

Monday: Registration again, this time selling mainly preregistration packs for next year, but also a few Monday-Only passes. Things got so slow that we closed a bit early, so Samjo, Bob, and I hit the dealer's room to catch up on anything we'd missed. My final swag haul included a Colossal Dr. Manhattan HeroClix figure (in a game with inch-high figurines, he's about a foot tall!), a Nemesis HeroClix (free with purchase), some dice for Deadlands, and the new Deadlands gear catalog for mad scientists (I bought the display copy cheap from the company reps). After that, Samjo and I headed home, pausing at Five Napkin Burger for an exquisite lunch.

All in all, I had a ton of fun. I'm really looking forward to next year, when I won't have a single responsibility. Being staff is worth it, but it's even better to be able to come and go as you please, especially when there's always so much going on.

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Click here for the campaign/character summary.

The team finally hatched a plan: (1) Have E-Branch sent an EWD (a "psi detector") to the hotel via courier, so they'd have it in the morning. (2) Chazz talks Judy into loaning them a second rental car. (3) Rajat and Trevon stake out and tail the Russians (sleeping in shifts) while Ardonius and Chazz sleep at the hotel then spend the day using the EWD at crime scenes to search for psychic residue. A reasonable plan, you'll surely agree.

Chazz sweet-talks Judy (the car rental clerk) into a loaner car by offering to take her on a wonderful date. However, when the waiter offers him wine with the meal, he critically fails his Alcoholism check and goes on a bender. After dinner, he takes her to a pub, where he proceeds to get so drunk he throws up on her. She changes her mind and takes the loaner car back. While this date is happening, a sleeping Rajat has a strange omen/dream in which a red panda warns him about birds.

When morning breaks, the Russians start driving around town and split up -- dropping one Russian off at an intersection, another off at a church, and a third at a campground. The shadowers decide that they should improve their odds and kidnap one, so the four meet at the church, where they're having Vacation Bible School for kids. The Russian is there (posing as a deacon from out of town), using ESP to scan the kids for psionic potential. He scans Trevon by accident, detects his psi abilities, and runs. Ardonius, who was hiding in the trees, tackles him from out of nowhere and beats him down, but not before the Russian activates a psychotronic device in his pocket to warn his telepath teammate that he's been attacked.

They psychically interrogate him and discover that the Russians are here to see if a psi is behind the child abductions -- and if one is, to see if they can recruit him into the ADPE! Their research indicates that a short-range exoteleporter is likely behind it. Since the other Russians (an astral projector, ergokinetic, and telepath) were likely to track the prisoner down soon, the team asks E-Branch to ask MI-6 to ask the local cops if they can hold the prisoner in a jail cell. The constable is very uncomfortable with this, but agrees. Meanwhile, the EWD makes it clear that the telepath is scanning for the prisoner and the astral projector is searching the town -- but the team gets him into a jail cell without much incident.

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The four PCs have just been confirmed as field agents. Normally, E-Branch would put each newbie on an established team, but (as usual) they're shorthanded and need someone to look into a situation now. Someone (or -thing) has been abducting red-headed, preteen boys from Gainsborough on the 17th or 18th of every month, leaving absolutely no clues; the last one was abducted from a park restroom as the cops were actively watching it! While they don't have permission to carry weapons, E-Branch gave each member a pistol off the record, and a few are carrying modest knives.

The team headed up via bus. Chazz sweet-talked the rental-car clerk (Judy) into a free upgrade and got her number. After checking into the motel and getting the low-down from Constable Capell, the PCs began checking the known crime scenes. Several of the boys have been taken (or are suspected to have been) from park restrooms; in one, the team found a hair under the sink, suggesting that the boy had crawled under there for some reason. (It wouldn't be to hide; the area under the sink is open.) In another, they found a tiny scrap of cheap leather -- the kind used to make crappy wallets -- implying that a wallet was sitting there and then was yanked away. The team got some rest, except for Chazz, who took Judy out on a date.

The latest crime scene had been literally torn apart by the cops, who were looking for a tunnel or something that would explain where the boy went. Rajat entered alone and combined Adjustment + Search skill + Second Chance for a margin of 11, which barely let him notice a thin film on a hinge. Smelling it (and succeeding at both Electronics Operation (Psychotronic) and Hidden Lore (ADPE)), he realized that it was the coolant used in the Russian-style EWD (a "psi sniffing" device the size of a shoebox) -- and that it had been used after the crime scene had been torn apart. The team realized that the Russians were here, and they were investigating the same abductions -- but why?

Chazz used his charm and his new relationship with Judy to obtain copies of the records of everyone who rented a car in the past two weeks. This included their IDs; Rajat's Wild Talent gave him the Forgery he needed to pick out the fake one. Knowing what at least one Russian looked like and what car they were driving, the team combed the city until they spotted it. Sneaking a peek at the hotel ledger, they matched up the license plate with a room number (312). At this point, the team realized that ADPE members were better trained, well armed, and absolutely vicious . . . and they freaked the hell out. For the next three hours, they argued in the parking lot -- proposing, then shooting down, several plans of attack -- before eventually deciding that it would be stupid to confront the Russians right now. Instead, they tactically retreated, with plans to tail the rented car later.

Since Twitter isn't conducive to long postings, and I don't want to waste space on the SJ Games forums, I've decided to resurrect my LJ for the sole purpose of blogging about my campaign(s) for anyone interested. For the record, our group alternates games depending on who's available, so updates may well skip a few weeks from time to time!

Necroscope

GM: PK
Players: Ben, Brad, Chris, and Sinead

The Concept and Setting

The year is 1980, the place is England, and the Cold War is in full swing. A nondescript, three-story brownstone just outside of London houses E-Branch, a group of psychic civilian contractors to MI-6. E-Branch's clairvoyants and sensitives track things like Russian subs, missing radioactive material, and so on -- while their telepaths ferret out secrets from foreign diplomats and spies. Despite this, the department is woefully underfunded and disrespected, because 98% of MI-6 are skeptics who consider these "fortune tellers" a pathetic waste of money.

E-Branch has about two dozen field agents, and that's where the PCs come in. When necessary, field agents assist MI-6 with international problems, MI-5 with national ones, and the police with local ones. While these are usually "weird" issues (e.g., an MI-6 team in Norway encounters what appear to be ambulatory plants), sometimes E-Branch helps on mundane ones just to prove their worth. The most dangerous cases involve rival psis or "monsters." Rival psis are usually normal folk who don't realize what their gifts can do, but some are self-aware, from horrible psychic criminals to agents of the dreaded Russian psi-branch, the ADPE. "Monsters" is a broad category, but it's known that weird things exist, from spirits to altered animals -- the worst being the dreaded Wamphyri (think vampires, but way scarier).

As field agents, PCs are expected to get the job done -- but just as important, to prove that it was E-Branch's help that saved the day! This means don't get caught breaking laws, stay on the good side of the authorities and liaisons, etc. Agents must do all this with no legal enforcement powers, no badges (they're civilian contractors, not MI-6 agents!), and barely any funds or equipment. Oh, and be sure to keep the existence of psi, monsters, etc., a secret from the general public. Have fun!

The Player Characters

Ander Johnson (Brad): Despite being a gifted electronics engineer, Ander grew up in America dreaming of being a professional footballer (soccer player). He saved up enough and moved to England to try out for Manchester United, but while he was good, he wasn't that good. Adrift in a new country and horrible at social adaptation, he had a very hard time fitting in. Fortunately, E-Branch spotted his Ergokinetic potential and brought him on board. They've helped him master Photorefraction and begin training on Dampen; more important, he's become the best psychotronics engineer they've ever had. (GCA) (PDF)

Ardonius Stone (Chris): Ardonius served his country proudly in the SAS, specializing in commando tactics, vehicular assault, and wilderness survival. (He kept his Telekinetic Control and PK Shield a secret the whole time.) E-Branch offered him a chance to continue to serve his country after his honorable discharge. Ardonius is the only member of the team wholly comfortable in combat, with extensive firearms training and a keen tactical mind. His rigid adherence to the rules and fanatical devotion to Queen and Country sometimes puts his teammates off, but they do respect him. (GCA) (PDF)

Chazz Allman (Ben): Chazz was the lead singer of The Titans, a popular glam-rock band, until he was indicted for tax evasion. He was forced into E-Branch as "community service" once their spotters realized that he had the Gift. Chazz is suave, sexy, charismatic, and in touch with the cultural zeitgeist -- and anyone he can't sweet-talk is vulnerable to his Suggestion power. He comes across as an alcoholic, sex-crazed airhead, which belies his willingness to push himself (e.g., he speaks five languages, is a Jujitsu brown belt, and has developed a weak Mind Shield). (GCA) (PDF)

Rajat Tomar (Sinead): From the mean streets of Bombay, Rajat immigrated to London, where his Probability Alteration talent allowed him to succeed at a variety of jobs that he was wholly unqualified for (through a mix of Adjustment, Coincidence, Second Chance, and Wild Talent). An E-Branch spotter brought him in, and offered to help him learn what he really was. Rajat learned like a sponge, supplementing his existing "item acquisition" skillset with a vast array of scientific, technological, and Hidden Lore training. Despite his bipolar disorder and persecution complex, he is a team player. (GCA) (PDF)

Retired Characters

Trevon Thatcher (Brad): Trevon Thatcher (no relation to Margaret) is an RN who became a Catholic priest. When he realized that he was preaching to those who needed it least, he abandoned his social position and lived on the street, witnessing to the homeless, gang members, etc. When a nonreceptive gang smashed one of his legs into a pulp, he called it quits. His Cure Injury and Sleep abilities manifested after the beating, but too late to save his leg. He joined E-Branch, where his odd mix of street knowledge, medical training, and religious lore have served his team well. (GCA) (PDF)