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Post by The Professor on Jan 11, 2010 19:36:47 GMT
First off, thank you Rassilon for making this section. I planned on posting my summaries on my blog, but I'll post them here as well for anyone interested in reading them. Torchwood 6: New York I'd like to say that I spent a great deal of time planning out details to my newest campaign attempt as I try to do for many other games I've run. But, in the case of Torchwood 6 (Run with the new Doctor Who RPG), everything we've done thusfar has been petty much off the cuff. I picked up the game that night after an incident involving my forgetting that night's D&D adventure and the possible lynching that would have followed. My players haven't gamed in months so they were quite anxious to resume. So, one box set purchase later, the group was involved in making characters for a whole new game. As a group, we decided to try out a game based on Torchwood rather than the Doctor/Companion style. Wanting to make original characters, it was decided to place the game after the events of the 456 and locate the new branch in New York. Being just an intoduction to the game rather than a full blow campaign at that time (Technically it still is not, but I'm rooting for it to be one since my brain's been going a mile-a-minute with designs and details. We'll probably determine that later), we didn't worry about how it would all fit into the who universe and just got right on with the character gen and gameplay. What we ended up for characters is a rather interesting lot: Harvey Glenister - A temporally displaced man originally from the 1970s, flung into the far future, then hurled back through time 30 years after he left. Elspeth "Elsi" Durnin - The player hasn't put much info together about this character yet the than she's apparently a fairly physical/combat oriented character. Ronald Bong - A skilled technician and former member of UNIT, Ronald was thrown out of UNIT after unbecoming conduct involving homemade explosives and a commanding officer's office. Bryan Zimmerman - A former UNIT medical technician and Ronald's partner in crime, he was drummed out when Ronald was. Nicknamed The Myth Busters for their ingenuity and ceativity, both were recruited by Abigail in part to spite UNIT (Whose commanding officer she has issues with). We only came up with one NPC thusfar (As we were just making things up on the fly. Though I've come up with an additional person as well. Abigail Springer - The head of Torchwood 6, Abigail has been working hard with what few resources she has to make a US based Torchwood branch succeed. (More on her later) Maxwell Schill - Head of UNIT HQ for the east coast, Schill was one of Abigail's biggest opponents to establishing a Torchwood branch in New York. However, the events in “Aliens of London” and “World War Three” were enough to convice the right people in Abigails' favor, much to his chagrin. So, once characters were made, we started off with the Arrowdown adventure, relocating it to somwhere along the East Coast around Maine. As the group arrived in Arrowdown, they began to detect an unusual energy pattern. They were able to follow it to the shoe where they discovered the fair grounds along the beach. Spliting up, Harvey and Elsi went to examine the fairgrounds while Ron and Bryan set up shop in the nearby cafe, Monroe's. It was not long after that that the chaos started. For Harvey and Elsi, their initial examination of the fairground was a bit disturbing as they noticed he fair was in full swing, but no one was there. They tried powering down rides but it seemed to have no effect. Curious, Harvey decided to try out the ghost train ride while Elsi waited a its exit. As she waited there, new life suddenly emerged from the fair as people started appearing as if they were there all along. Ron and Bryan came by their own mystery as they discovered the only person they've seen in town, a young woman, running Monroe's. though they thought little of it (For wahtever reason), their curiosity was peaked as their devices picked up a large amount of chronon energy just before the cafe's business suddenly spiked, with people suddenly appearing and entering the cafe. As they reported this to Elsie, as Harey's comm apparently stopped working when he entered the ride, they noticed their scanner was missing and a figure suddenly darting from the cafe. The chase was on. After several close calls while chasing the thief through the town's dock area, Elsie (Who joined in when Ron contacted her) and Ron caught the thief who cried that he only want to find a way out of the hell he was in. As they looked about, the also noticed the odd collection of ships in the docks, some of which were a little out of place. When they asked the mystery thief about it, he exclaimed he was from a fishing schooner from 1856. It was about that point that a loud klaxon started ringing out and all hell broke loose. As the boats began fading away into nothing (causing them to run pell-mell back to dry land, the trio noticed what looked to be slow moving things shuffling about the nearby fairgrounds as townsfolk began screaming and running amok. Initially thinking zombies, the group was surprised when they began making their way back to the car and noticed some drunk attacking what looked like a platic dummy dressed up like a mummy. They saved the man from being beaten to a pulp as they tried to bring the mummy down with their handguns (to no lasting effect). Eventually Elsie tackled the creature, pinning it to the ground till they could figue out a stratagy. Meanwhile, Harvey was having a close encounter of his own as the ghost train dummies suddenly began coming to life, trying to end his. when he realized his gun was of little use, he fled outside and, after a close call, joined the rest of his team as they sat on the mummy, wondering what to do with it and the situation at hand. Determined to figure out what was controling the mannequins, Harvey sent Ron and Bryan out to find some kind of radio tower or something that could be broadcasting a signal while he and Elsie made their way back to the cafe, trying to save what townsfolk they could. As they reached the SUV, allowing Ron and Bryan to get away and find that tower, Harvey and Elsie were jumped by several more of the mannequins only to be saved by an assault rifle packing woman, the same one Ron and Bryan met, who introduced herself a Teresa, agent of Torchwood. Cut to commercial breakWe should be wrapping this adventure up this upcoming weekend and hopefully, I can push for it to become our regular game. The players seemed to enjoy it and we may even get 1 or 2 more players to join us.
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Post by Null and Void on Jan 11, 2010 19:44:54 GMT
Just curious, but how do you resolve the conflict between Torchwood being set up originally as a British Organization, protecting British interests and this branch of Torchwood being in the United States?
Personally, I think it has some intriguing possibilities with the US Government considering them an espionage agency and trying to shut them down, or else co-opt them and their technology....
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Post by The Professor on Jan 11, 2010 20:17:31 GMT
Since there has been little information pertaining to Torchwood in terms of organization and structure, I decided to take a few liberties and expand on the concept.
Mind you, this is all preliminary and I'm hoping to share it here in more detail as I come up with it.
From what I've figured, certain world leaders would have taken notice of the incident during the Xmas episode The Christmas Invasion when Torchwood shot down the Sycorax over London. While little information made have been made available, I figured Abigail, the head of Torchwood 6 (self created character), would have approached her superiors in regards to possibly expanding Torchwood's influence to neighboring countries that seemed more inquisitive and, therefore, easier to negotiate with in regards to discovered alien tech.
Given her contacts in the US government and superior skills in persuasion and negotiation, she was given the go-ahead to make some inquires with the right people and see what the possibilities were.
I'm still working on the inbetween details, but I'm figuring she was successful in her negotiations and was begining to establish the first US branch when the Canary Wharf incident occured. With the loss of Torchwood 1, much of the resources available to the two remaining Torchwoods (2 and 3) were lost. Which not only made Torchwood 6 vital in rebuilding, but also strengthened Abigail's position with the Americans thanks to the global incidents of that day.
I've got more I'm working on, especially regarding Torchwood 2 and the possibilities of a T7 and T8. I'll be posting that as I work them out.
Also, opinions are always welcome. I don't consider myself a Dr Who expert by any means and am always open to suggestions and ideas.
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THE \/ince
2nd Incarnation
THE OTHER
Cloister this!
Posts: 66
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Post by THE \/ince on Jan 11, 2010 21:34:02 GMT
Sounds like a good concept. Of course, what you need to bear in mind is that America was once upon a time a British Colony, or at least parts of it were. Perhaps TW6 had been in existence since the Victorian era, and TW's inception. Abigail could be reinitiating the old TW organisation in America after the 456 incident.
As the game progresses she could discover more and more of their holdings in the US, making them a force to be reckoned with eventually.
Anyway, have Karma for such a good idea.
THE \/ince
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Post by The Professor on Jan 11, 2010 21:49:16 GMT
O.O I completely didn't think of that. Fantastic \/ince! Return karma right back at'cha. That gives me a whole slew of new possible thoughts.
Oh the wheels they are a turning.
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THE \/ince
2nd Incarnation
THE OTHER
Cloister this!
Posts: 66
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Post by THE \/ince on Jan 11, 2010 21:56:55 GMT
Why thank you kindly.
It also opens up the possibility of TW operations across the whole of the former Commonwealth.
TW:India. Let's face it, call centre technology must be the result of evil aliens.
THE \/ince
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Post by The Professor on Jan 11, 2010 22:04:14 GMT
Actually, there was once a Torchwood in India. Torchwood 5. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchwood_Institute#Torchwood_India.2C_DelhiBut that's not to say there's nothing there to find still. Now this is making me re-think my entire season I had planned. Might make more of an impact if I make the ending of Season one, the ending for a season two....
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Post by Null and Void on Jan 11, 2010 22:10:53 GMT
I ran a one-shot Torchwood campaign based out of Hong Kong in the 1990s using the FASA system. I'll admit I was partially inspired by William Marshall's Yellowthread Street mysteries (which are brilliant and funny police procedurals set in the days before the turnover to the Chinese.)
The villains of the piece were the Faeries from Small Worlds, but with an Asian twist.
Lots of possibilities with the remnants of the old British Empire.
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Post by Rel Fexive on Jan 11, 2010 22:29:31 GMT
Oddly, I'm reminded of Stargate SG-1 where, after certain climatic and highly visible incidents, the US Government was forced to reveal the existence of the Stargate Project to the leaders of the other permanent members of the UN Security Council. There was a certain amount of shared participation in the Project after that.
Perhaps recent events, like the Saxon, 27 Planet and 456 Incidents have forced the UK and Torchwood into a similar position?
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Post by The Professor on Jan 11, 2010 23:02:17 GMT
Season 3 hook perhaps? ;D
Have karma for that season idea. I'm liking where my brain is going.
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Post by The Professor on Jan 13, 2010 17:36:20 GMT
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Post by The Professor on Jan 17, 2010 6:22:43 GMT
So, I'm on a quick five min break from this evening's game and thusfar We're about to see the two Mythbuster like characters planning on taking out the bad guy (Nestene) with a Honey Wagon loaded with whatever explosive material they could dig up. They're still not sure where it's located so I'm unsure what they're going to do, but it should be interesting (And messy)
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Post by Kit on Jan 19, 2010 22:38:28 GMT
some news from Syfy that might be of interest to you Professor:
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Post by The Professor on Jan 20, 2010 16:54:27 GMT
I saw that on the Gallifrey News site today. Given that RTD and friends would be working on it, I hae hopes if it does exist.
Amazing Koinky-dink though I must say.
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Post by The Professor on Jan 20, 2010 20:46:06 GMT
So, our last session this past weekend saw some creative, albeit disgusting, use of random dice rolls.
When we last left the team, Ron and Bryan and taken off for the local radio station in order to try and create a counter signal to the broadcast controlling the autons while Harvey and Elsie found shelter in Monroe's Cafe with a woman claiming to be part of Torchwood. For team Mythbuster (Ron and Bryan), their venture was fairly uneventful. However, this was the time they decided to be very creative in making defenses against the Autons. Using a bit of real world know how and some random dice rolls that played in their favor, the duo was able to rig up a makeshift flamethrower and arm themselves with some implements from the local hardware store.
Meanwhile, Harvey and Elsie learned about the Rift in Arrowdown from Theresa, the mystery woman, as well as why she's here. after her explaination, she realized the eset did not occur as it usually does and ran into the back to check the device. This was the point I introduced a new player to the game; an old Torchwood agent sent to Arrowdown 7 years ago and got caught up in the rift like the townsfolk. He overheard the conversation and, having some knowledge of tech, just walked right in and stated helping, introducing himself as an agent of Torchwood, much to the surprise of the others.
"Great, it's a bloody Torchwood reunion in here." -Elsie-
When they realized that there wasn't enough power getting to the manipulator to trigger a reset, she explained that they needed to cut power to a number of rooms the rift was maintaining, a job Harvey and the new guy (His name I forgot), took upon themselves to do while Elsie and Theresa ran back out front to fend off the Autons.
By this point, Ron and Bryan arrived at the radio station and found a way to temporarily rig a counter signal in hopes it would stop the autons. As a bit of a joke, as they are apparently known for, they also piped through Michael Jackson's Thriller for a chuckle given the Auton's sluggish, zombie-like movements (Unfortunately the signal have little to no effect). They then loaded up and drove full speed back to Monroe's in hope to help their team.
At Monroe's, the Autons had begun breaking through the makeshift barricades and Elsie, joined by Harvey and Theresa, have resorted to hand-to-hand tactics to try and slow the Auton's down while New-guy finished cutting the power. It was in the last room, the Library, that he encountered the strange pool of black liquid and heard an odd voice when he went to examine it (He's unsure what was actually being said as it sounded like gibberish). However, needed to help the team over satisfying his own curiosity, he just the power like the others and the room disappeared.
By this point, the dynamic duo had returned and was creating a well needed distraction for those in the cafe. However, they became too good of a distraction as all of the Auton were preparing to open fire on the SUV just before the Rift reset time. With the loop reset, the Autons ambled back to the Ghost Train ride at the command of a mysterious Ringmaster dressed figure who slipped back into the ride afterwards.
Once things had calmed down, Harvey (the defacto team lead) sent the dynamic duo along with Elsie (To play the voice of reason) to gather what they could in terms of potential homemade explosives while New-guy (Who had not vanished with the reset thanks to absorbing a small amount of rift energy when he disconnected the rooms - I had to keep the player in the game so it seemed logical enough) chatted with Theresa about what was happening and what they needed to do. They discovered that the rift no longer had the power to trigger another reset so whatever they were going to do, they had to do it right away.
Eventually, the trio returned with a homemade bomb on wheels (Having rigged a Honey Wagon [Random roll, honestly] semi-full to explode with materials from the Hardware store. They also had several smaller pipe bombs just in case. Armed up, they made their way to the Ghost Train ride in order to find the mysterious ringmaster and hopefully, the Nestene Conciousness. Fortunately for them, they got their wish. After a bit of fast talking (And Ron slipping away just in case), they were taken underground to where the Nestene was resting. They learned why the Nestene was there (Wanting the rift to return home and save it's planets from The Time War), how it got there (And it's true effects on theresa's husband's "death"), and who the mystery ringmaster was (Her husband).
As dialogue between the Nestene and Harvey progressed, the group realized what was happening and decided to stop the Nestene. A small fight ensued between the group and several Autons while Ron, still on the surface, fought off one of the autons while trying to determine where to park their bomb on wheels (He found a good spot, getting creative with their scanner to find where the players were underground). Because of his love for large explosions (A Michael Bay fan?), Ron also found an old WW2 boat in the docks sill with usable depth charges.
At this point, it was getting time to end the session but we were close to the end. so I decided to describe a bit of a montage with Ron getting the boat into position and the players fleeing the Nestene cave (After lobbing a small pipe bomb into it and dragging Allen (Theresa's husband) to safety. The resulting explosion collapsed the cave upon the Nestene, stopping the Autons and freeing Allen from its control. Not long after, the townsfolk began to reappear, but without any attack by Autons. they also were able to receive a call from Abigail who was concerned for their safety when she could not get them on the phone (After they entered town).
The session ended with the group, a little messy thanks to the Honey Wagon, but none the worse for wear, reuniting Theresa with her husband while relaxing with a beer.
*Camera panback to show UNIT vehicles moving into the area outside of town*
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Post by The Professor on Jan 20, 2010 20:48:47 GMT
Summary All in all, the players had alot of fun and there's talk about making this our current game of choice. However, we'll be adding one more player who has not yet tied the game. Since I'm leaving it up to my players as to what game they prefer, we'll be running one more intro session before, hopefully, moving forward with the campaign.
Next on TW6 New York: Episode 0.5 - The Night Stalker
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Post by The Professor on Jan 25, 2010 19:10:18 GMT
Our third session of TW6 was run this past Saturday to allow a possible newcomer to try the system and decide if we'll be running it as our primary campaign (Which we will be. Yata!). Since we were down a player from the previous session, I was able to explain his temporary write-out while the rest continued on and met a future member of the team. I also refered to this as Episode .5 as we still were not into the campaign proper as this was yet another intro session for new players. So, without further ado, I present: Prologue *Establishing shot*Lightning flashes as we catch a glimpse of the old house on the hill. The winds kick up a little as the creaking of the old sign, “Gaylord House”, catches the attention of two gentlemen getting out of an old van. The driver, a large bald man, takes hold of a bag between the seats before closing the door while the smaller, better dressed gentleman, closes the passenger door and looks the old house over. A light from the foyer illuminates the porch a little as the two men enter the front door. *Interior Shot*The décor of the house’s interior present the appearance of an aged yet preserved time. An old carved wood counter greets the gentlemen as they enter the front door, the dim, orangish light illuminating things just enough to see. An elderly gentleman (Willhem) stands behind the counter and looks to the men as they enter. Suddenly a giggle rings out, catching the men by surprise, as a small child, a young girl, goes running past. The larger man reaches into his coat but the smaller man rests his hand on the large man’s arm, shaking his head. Man (Off stage): Maggie! Quite running around! The large man seems to grow less tense as the child runs off. They approach the counter to be greeted by the smiling old man. Willhem: And how can I help you gentlemen this evening? Smaller Man: One room for the night if you will good sir. My brother and I are looking to take a bit of shelter before the storm kicks in. Willhem: Ah well, no one wants to be out in what they say is comin’. *chuckles* The smaller man lightly chuckles in return. The old man leans over and spies the bag in the the large man’s hand. Willhem: Shall I have your bag taken to your room? The cook’s just got a nice venison stew cooked up. Don’t want to miss that. The large man’s grip noticably tightens on the handle. Smaller Man: *Startlingly* NO! *calms down* No, that’s…quite alright. We’ll just be retiring for the night. We’ve a long trip ahead of us tomorrow. Willhem: Suit yerselves. *Hands the smaller man a key* Rooms upstairs, third door on the right. Breakfast is served 8 am sharp. The smaller man nods approvingly and both make their way up the stairs. What seems to go unnoticed is a dark red stain on the corner of the large man’s bag that seems to be slowly growing. *Time passes as the camera pans through the house. Suddenly a woman’s scream rings out as Willhem, a younger man and a middle aged man come running into the kitchen to see a young woman leaning down by the back door where another middle aged man lies in a pool of blood, just outside the door. A severe gash runs along his throat. The woman, her face streaked with tears looks to the men who entered the room* Lightning flashes as a humanoid form is briefly seen in the distance, running away. *cue theme music*Torchwood 6: New York Episode 0.5 The Night Stalker - Part 1 After a successful mission in the small town of Arrowdown, the team was asked to return to HQ with Dylan Cooper, the Torchwood agent caught in Theresa's temporal loop for 7 years. Abigail wanted to debrief him and bring him up to speed on the years he's missed. She also ordered Ron to stay behind to study the rift manipulator technology at Arrowdown (The player was unavailable that evening). As the group made their way home, they found themselves driving head on into a torrential rain storm (The radio had been knocked out due to Bryan's handling of the van in Arrowdown; Van vs Auton). Hoping to make their way home with little difficulty, the group's luck eventually ran out as they found the road they were on blocked due to a mudslide. While Harvey's driving skills saved them from driving head on into the dirt, it didn't save the rear tire from blowing out. With the spare also out of commision (Thanks to an auton hand having punctured the spare when Bryan was fishtailing the SUV to take out Autons) and cell phone reception shot due to where they were in the hills, the group had to find some kind of shelter for the night. Dylan recalled seeing a sign several hundred yards back for a B&B called The Gaylord House. Doning ponchos, the group trudged their way back to the house. Upon arrival, they noticed no one immediately at the counter until Elsie rang the bell on the desk. A sweet, grandmotherly woman tottered out from a back room and began talking to the group. Almost immediately, they could tell she was off her rocker as she began talking about 'Them' and making oddball references to 'them' being sad and not meaning to do it. Fortunately, a rather nervous young man came up to the foyer from a side hallway and ushered his mother back into the back room, apologizing to the players for his mothers dementia. He checked them into the remaining rooms they had while the group observed his nervousness. They inquired if things were alright to which he quickly replied 'yes' and finished checking them in. Curious, the group began to make their way upstairs one by one where they were greeted by a face poking out of one of the rooms. Another young gentleman ( A new player) asked them if they were with Henry Van Stratton. Confused, they stated they were not and then asked if they heard the scream earlier. Their curiosity now peaked, the group decided to investigate and question the young man. Heading back downstairs, followed by the man from upstairs, they tried to head down a back hallway where they were blocked by the young man from earlier. They tried to intimidate their way back there, stating they were from Tochwood. The young man was not impressed as he'd never heard of torchwood, and claimed that area was for employees only. However, the newcomer from upstairs was overjoyed when he heard where they were from. He immediately launched into being part of the FBI, Special Agent Carter, and convinced the young man, who introducd himself as Jeremy, that they needed to investigate the screaming from earlier. Buying into the 'Special Agent Carter' act, Jeremy led them into the kitchen where they found several other folks crowding around a dead body. Harvey immediately ordered Bryan to examine the body while 'Agent Carter' explained to the others that they'll need to clear the room for 'his team' to work here and led them to the foyer. There were also interuptions by several patrons. First by a couple of brothers, Serge and Kiev who seems to show little concern for the man's murder. The gentleman that followed, the father of a family visiting the area, showed a bit more concern and shock. 'Agent Carter' ushered everyone out into the foyer to continue asking questions and to keep them out of the crime scene. He asked Jeremy to explain what happened and found out that the housekeeper (Sylia) came in the back and found the body of their cook, Harold, right where they see him. His father (Whillem) and the groundskeeper (Martin) came to invesitgate when Sylia screamed. During the questioning, the old lady, Jeremy's mother, came back out from the back office and continued to make references to 'Them' and that they were sorry. He humored the woman and continued talking to the others. After a few minutes, 'Agent Carter' thanked them for the information and told them to have them remain in the foyer for some futher questioning. When carter returned to the kitchen, Harvey's temperment got the better of him and he slammed Carter up against the wall, threatening him if he starts acting like that again ( That he was in charge and part of the team). Scared for his life, Carter pulled out a strange looking device, which he pointed at Harvey, asking him to put him down. Quick to the draw, Elsie drew her weapon and pointed it at Carter for a good old standoff. Eventually, nerves settled as Elsie and Carter got Harvey to agree to stand down. As Harvey released him, Carter, insulted by Harvey's 'barbaric' treatment of him, turned to leave the room, and tripped over his own two feet. However, he did discover, on the floor just under the table, a strange glob of viscous blue liquid. pointing it out, Harvey scooped up a little and had Bryan bag it for further study. With things finally calmed down, Bryan, having been engaged in his initial post-mortem investigation, concluded that the man was killed by some sort of rough hook-like impliment, possibly a claw given the natural residue left along the wound. He also concluded that given the nature of the wound, it was inflicted to kill slowly, as if to make the man bleed out slowly, but uncontrollably ( The player spent a Story Point to make the roll and totaled quite high). Concerned about what they might be dealing with, Harvey returned to the foyer to further question the people, leaving Elsie to watch over Carter. Meanwhile, Dylan had slipped outside when the group initially was trying to get into the kitchen and went looking for a back door. He did find the back door, but realizing that the group already had things under control in the kitchen, he decided to investigate outside what he could in the pouring rain. There were two other buildings in the back yard; a green house which tuned up nothing other than a variety of empty planters and a sizable storage shed. Inside the shed, Dylan found a small pool of the same blue gel that was found inside as well as streak marks as if to indicate something was dragged out of the shed. Inside, Elsie realized that Dylan was missing and was ordered by Harvey to go ouside and find him. As she went running outside, Harvey began to further question the patrons, being pestered once more by the old lady. He began asking in anyone knew anything that could have killed him and several references were made to the wild animals that reside in the wilds around the house. Harvey dismissed them given the wound, but was curious when a child, the son of the father from earlier, asked if it was the funny monster that lives in the hills. He handed Harvey a pamphlet advertising the legends of a strange monster living in the hills. The regions very on equivilent to Bigfoot. Harvey was asking for more information about the monster when a flash of lighting seemed to kill the power in the house. Jeremy asked Martin to go check the fuse box while Harvey let the rest of the team know what may have happened. Outside, Elsie and Sylan decided to check on the power connection itself, concerned given the recent event. Their fears were confirmed as they noticed the powerline had been cut along the house and the cellar doors were open. Drawing her sidearm ( Dylan was not armed as of yet), Elsie took point while Dylan followed with the flashlight. Downstairs they discovered an open fusebox and the body of the groundskeeper splayed out on the floor. The uncomfortable silence was then suddenly broken by a low growling sound coming from the darkness. Upstairs, Harvey began to hear a low growling sound as well. Slowly panning the flashlight around, it came to rest on a large 6 limbed lizard-like creatue that immedately let out an ear piercing wail. *End of Session*
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Post by The Professor on Jan 25, 2010 19:23:52 GMT
Torchwood 6: New York Episode 0.5 The Night Stalker - Part 1 Session Confidential All in all, this session went rather well for my third time out. There were a few snags and possible changes I may make for future sessions. Forst off, I tried using the Prologue bit as mentioned in the GMs book (I posted it in the session notes above). It wasn't bad, at least in my opinion. However, one player stated she had the surprise ruined (mainly of whre they were going to end up. Though not sure how that's a surprise since it was encountered ASAP) and a second had no opinion as he's usually fairly ambivalent about such things. Secondly, I overused the old woman one too many times. While there is some importance, I should have only used her twice rather than three times. Lastly, the speed at which we progressed was a little faster than what I was hoping for. But we were under a time constraint and I'm still working out good pacing for a game like this. I had hoped there would be more investigation prior to the monster reveal. But, as we all know, games never go the way you'd plan for. Fortunately, it seems the vote swung in favor of continuing with TW6 as the main bi-monthly campaign but we'll need to wrap this up first. I should have the next session up around the same time next week.
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Post by Curufea on Jan 25, 2010 23:16:37 GMT
You've written Con games before, haven't you? The prologue reads just like a blurb for a convention game
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Post by The Professor on Jan 26, 2010 14:15:54 GMT
You've written Con games before, haven't you? The prologue reads just like a blurb for a convention game True. A prologue can be described as such. However, the GM Book (Pg 133) describes it as a 5-10 minutes scene that could (Or could not) involve the players and is used as a means to set the scene or hint at things to come. I'm thinking they're going for something akin to the first few minutes of an episode of Dr Who just before the credits roll.
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Post by The Professor on Feb 4, 2010 16:44:26 GMT
Torchwood 6: New York Episode 0.5 The Night Stalker - Part 2 As the scene resumes, the Torchwood team finds themselves facing down several large lizard-like creatures. In the basement, Dylan and Elsie found the body of the B&B's chef with one of the lizards looming over him. Spying the two agents, the creature slowly began moving toward them as they, in turn, slowly backed out of the basement. Dylan, armed only with a flashlight, shot up the stairs and began grabbing things to block the cellar doors with once Elsie got out, hopefully trapping the creature inside Keeping her gun trained on the creature, Elsie began to slowly work her way up the stairs. However, a twitch from the creature tripped Elsie's nervous trigger finger as she fired several rounds at the creature. With an amazing display of agility, it dodged out of the way and then gave chase as Elsie ran out of the basement. Overshooting her, the creature slid to a stop outside before Dylan could trap it in the basement, and began staring down the agents. Meanwhile, Harvey, Bryan, and Carter found themselves trapped inside the house with another lizard. Harvey slowly coaxed the B&B patrons who were in the foyer with them back into the sitting room hoping they'll get the hint and find a safe place. Meanwhile, Jeremy, the owner's son and manager of the B&B (Played by the one player I had to write out for this episode), made his way into the back office to find his father's shotgun. Struggling in the dark to find the shells, Jeremy didn't notice his mother make her way out into the foyer, curious to see what the commotion was about. In the kitchen, Bryan and Carter met the scared patrons who came in via the sitting room in a panic. With a few more well placed words, cater managed to calm them down enough to find out what happened and then coax them into the staff rooms for their safety. As the patrons made their way there, the two agents began to slip down the other hallway in an attempt to flank the creature. Peaking around the corner from the sitting room, Harvey saw the beast approach the old woman, who gently patted it's snout. Not wanting the woman to become lizard food, Harvey tried to coax her away from the creature. Noticing Harvey, the lizard let out another cry as Jeremy finished loading the shotgun and turned it on the beast, believing his mother's life to be in danger. The creature's body flew against a nearby wall and slumped to the ground. Outside, the lizard facing Dylan and Elsie perked up when the shotgun's blast rang out and suddenly sprang toward the backyard, leaving the agents alone. However, Elsie did not want a repeat encounter with the beast and well placed shot (And a Story Point), brought the creature down. Moments later, another shrill cry was head in the distance, indicating there was at least one more. As nerves began to settle, the agents got to work assessing the situation. confirming both creatures were dead, Bryan began what autopsy he could, Elsie and Harvey headed back down to see if they could get power, and the others questioned Jeremy's grandmother who didn't take the killing of the creature well. They discovered that the creatures, which she calls Krecktix, have apparently been around for a while as she had met them years ago hiking in the back trails. She also showed them a disk-shaped device they gave her to help communicate with them. Curiosity getting the better of him as always, Dylan decided to pop the device next to his temple to see what would happen. He felt a sudden sharp pain as a needle drove itself into his head and began bombarding him with what sounded like thousands of voices. Trying hard to focus, he found himself listening to a random conversation that sounded like a medical drama. Trying a few more times, he found he could focus the voices onto a single one, but determined with wasn't a mind reading device when he tried to read Carter's mind. However, the pain became to much and he eventually removed the device. Though unsure of the device's true purpose, they at least figured it must have been what caused the old woman's dementia. Meanwhile, Elsie did her own perimeter recon and found what looked to be tracks near the edge of the woods that resembled the feet of the Krecktix and tracks that appeared to be something being dragged. She was able to determine they were human foot prints and radioed back to Harvey what she found. He was able to confirm that someone was taken when Jeremy came back in from checking on the patrons and discovered the housekeeper, Elli, was missing. Harvey decided then that they'd need to send a team into the woods to track the last creature. He tried to keep Jeremy and Dylan (Who seemed a bit woozy) at the house while the rest would track the creature. However, a resolute and determined Jeremy refused to stand by while Elli was out there. Realizing Jeremy wasn't going to stand down, Harvey decided he would remain behind to watch the house in case the Krecktix returned while the rest armed up and headed off into the woods. *End of Episode*
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Post by The Professor on Feb 4, 2010 16:53:55 GMT
Torchwood 6: New York Episode 0.5 The Night Stalker - Part 2 Session Confidential This session was unfortunately cut short due to tired players, but fortunately, a bit more of the story was revealed. The players are still getting us to the use of story points beyond mere dice modification and I'm hoping a session or two more might see some more creative use of their points. Unfortunately, one player seems to have an issue with the conflict system, thinking it to be cluncky and hard to follow. I'm still working out the best way to begin things when a conflict starts and keep the scene flowing smoothly. though it turns out I may have missed a rule or two regarding running a conflict. I was also easily able to incorporate the 6th player in by providing him a detailed NPC, Jeremy, to use. He seemed to pick up on the character well enough after we discussed Jeremy's motivations and background a bit pre-game. I'll include him here in case anyone needs a quick NPC for something. Hopefully, the next session this weekend will see the conclusion to The Night Stalker. JeremyAwareness: 3 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 3 Presence: 2 Resolve: 4 Strength: 2 Skills: Athletics 3 (Climbing), Knowledge 3 (Business Management, Economics), Science 1, Technology 1, Fighting 2, Transport 1, Subterfuge 2 Traits: Indomitable (M), Brave (m), Quick Reflexes (m), Run for your Life! (m), Inexperienced (S), Insatiable Curiosity (m) Story Points: 15 Notes: - Currently helping his parents run The Gaylord House, a small B&B in eastern New York. - Curious by nature, always wondering what else is out there. - Romantically involved with Elli, the B&B's housekeeper.
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