Post by kabukiman on Mar 10, 2010 17:48:47 GMT
The 21st century is when it all changes, and a small gaming group from Wisconsin is ready.
*cue dramatic music*
My group consists of one Who-fan, one part-time Who fan, and one Who virgin. I designed the first adventure as a slower paced two-parter to kind of ween everybody (myself) in to the new rules. I kept part one Doctor-lite for the benefit of the virgin. To draw everybody in, I broke a cardinal rule of role-playing: everybody played themselves, and the adventure took place in local areas present-day. I felt this was a great way to not only draw the players in easier, but also take the pressure off everybody while learning a new game system. The first adventure is a combination of two local legends: The Beast of Bray Road, and a haunted hotel (The Pfister).
The players' names have been changed to protect the innocent.
==============================
Here is how part one played out (I apologize in advanced for any grammar errors, I'm sure there will be many):
Since their regular Friday night gaming session was cancelled, Jane convinced everyone to drive out to Elkhorn. She thought it would be fun to check out Bray Rd to look for "The Beast." Jim, who is quite unadventurous, was "dragged" along because he basically does whatever Jane tells him to do. Frank, who is just kind of looking for something to do since game night has been canceled, goes along without objection.
The adventure began with the group arriving (in a car driven by Jim) at a T-intersection on foggy night. This was Bray road. The fog was thick and the moon was full. While they were checking out the scenery from the safety of their vehicle, a "jogger" ran from left to right on Bray Rd.
After a short discussion, they turn right. Immediately after turning right, they see a hulking "bear" tackle the "jogger" at incredible speed. Jim quickly swerved and got lucky when the car kissed the ditch, but did not fall in. While Jim was handling the wheel, Jane and Frank got a good look at this "bear." The bear was no bear at all, but an enormous wolf. The wolf was making a meal out of the "jogger" who turned out to not be a jogger at all, but some poor guy in street clothes. The beast and the body were gone in an instant as Jim spun the car around to have a better look (from a safer distance) leaving a puddle of blood, and some torn clothing.
They sit in silence and disbelief for a moment and then quickly start debating what to do next. Eventually, Jane goes silent. As Jim and Frank argue, Jane opens the door and runs to the scene of the attack.
Jim drives the car closer and both he and Frank leave the vehicle to assist Jane in her investigation. Jane finds a hotel card key with a room number (yeah, I know hotel card keys usually don't have the number written on, this one did). Frank finds an old-school Nintendo GameBoy with some blinking lights on the screen and a faint beeping. This GameBoy also has an antenna poking out the top. Jim stands near the car scared out of his wits, repeatedly asking if everyone could get back in the car.
Frank makes out that the GameBoy has been fashioned into some sort of detection device. Whatever it is detecting is very far off to the east, with another "blip" further up the road.
While Frank is playing with the GameBoy, Jane walks to edge of the road where the beast ran and starts yelling "Here wolfie wolfie wolfie!!!!!" At that moment, a third blip shows up on Frank's GameBoy and it's approaching the center point fast.
The trio hurry into the car. As soon as they are inside, the beast appears and heads straight for Jane's door. The beast looks sad as is whimpering with it's face so close to Jane's window. She rolls down the window and starts to pet the blood soaked beast. Before Jim can hit the gas, the beast howls in pain and runs away.
With these events, plus the closer "blip" on the GameBoy, the groups curiosity is piqued and they decide to investigate more, starting with the closer blip on the GameBoy.
They pass various rural homes and farms until they arrive at a large farm with a sign that reads "Hot Rod Cow Farm" (laugh it up, I wanted to include a "DoctorWho/Torchwood" anagram somehow, just for grins
). At this farm, there are large fields, a white farmhouse, and very brightly lit barn.
At the farmhouse, there are many parked cars and trucks. It would appear to the casual observer that they are having a party (or other get-together) of some sort. The trio argues in the front yard about what to do long enough to be noticed by a red hooded figure in the window.
Before they know it, they are surrounded by dozens of red robed cultists who are ordered to bring them back into the house. As they pass through a small foya, Jim notices a photo of the cult performing some sort of ritual in a familiar looking ballroom.
They are brought to an altar of sorts in one of the larger rooms of the house where the leader of the cult (whose name is never asked for or revealed). They learn from the leader that this "cult" is a US faction of The Bretheran. This faction differs from the proper Bretheran in that they seek immortality through the wolf, as well as worship it. When she is asked about the collor, the leader strokes a pendant hanging from her neck. She also explains that the Beast is an anomaly: it is a werewolf stuck in wolf form.
The leader quickly tires of the questioning, especially from Jane who she attempts to stab in the throat as Jane is being held down. At that moment, the Beast crashes through a window and starts tearing apart any cultist it can get to.
Saved by the confusion, Jane grabs the pendant and Jim wrestles the knife away from the leader. He also notices a book that was knocked to the floor from the altar and grabs it. Any cultist not getting mangled by the Beast runs for the brightly lit barn while the leader runs through a door leading, presumably, to a basement.
Once the Beast chases the cultists who are running toward the barn, Jim and Frank think it would be prudent to make an escape. Jane, however, states her intention to burn the barn down. Cooler heads prevail, and the trio make it to the car and drive away to safety.
They then use this opportunity to follow the last blip on the GameBoy. The one that seems to be located far east of their current location.
Eventually, their travels take them to Milwaukee. The blip, which has grown in size as they approached it, is centered on the Pfister hotel. There are also new smaller blips within the very large blip.
As the group explores the hotel, they encounter a harmless ghost or two (these were the smaller blips). Jane and Frank head to the bar (at the top floor, which I'm calling the 14th, but I really don't know how many floors are in the real hotel) for drinks. While they do that, Jim inquires at the front desk about any messages or packages held for him. He presents the key card. After he is told that he has no messages and everything held was "cleared out" this morning, Jim joins Jane and Frank who are quite drunk.
While Jane and Frank are living it up and harassing the bartender, Jim opens the book to a dog-eared section. He learns of the Bretherans exploits in Europe, specifically an event in 1879 where they tried to convert Queen Victoria to a werewolf but were thwarted by a stranger known only as "The Doctor" and a "naked girl."
After a long night of drinking, the trio decide to turn in and make use of their hotel key. In the elevator, they encounter an older gentleman bell-hop ghost who takes them to a very strange and darkly-lit floor. He explains that this is their stop: the thriteenth floor. After getting over a bit of disbelief, since this hotel has no 13th floor (instead jumping from 12 to 14 based on superstition), they leave the elevator and explore the 13th floor. The hallway has numerous double-doors presumably to a ballroom. The very drunk Frank sees a pair of doors that don't match the others. These doors are blue. And there is a light coming from the windows. The other doors don't have windows. And this set of doors is slightly ajar.
They let themselves in and discover that the room is like something out of a science fiction movie. They assume this is elaborate decoration for an upcoming convention. At the center of the room, they see a sharply dressed man with a hammer and a blow torch who seems to be "fixing" the pillar in the middle with all the buttons, knobs, and levers.
They ask him what he is doing and he spouts some nonesense about "refueling" on this rift which isn't supposed to be here. He claims it overloaded his "engines." The very drunk Jane mentions how she wants to save "her" werewolf from the Bretheran. At the mention of the Bretheran, the stranger "cures" her and her friend's drunkenness with a pill and asks to be shown where these events happened. They show him a map.
At that, the doors shut by themselves and the man starts fiddling with switches and knobs. Suddenly the pillar in the center of the room starts to move up and down and the floor vibrates. A groaning and a whale-song-like sound is heard.
Frank is so confused. He finally asks the big question: "Who are you?!?"
"I'm the Doctor"
==============================
My first game went better than expected as far as handling the new rules. I believe the entire group had fun and nobody felt they were missing out by not being a Who fan.
The only thing that I am changing for next week is that I over-prepared a bit for this adventure and was often thrown for a loop when the players did something unexpected. Next week, I plan on being better prepared to ad-lib and improvise.
If you're curious on what my notes looked like for this adventure, I've made them publicly available here (if you're one of my players who has stumbled upon this post, don't click this link, it may spoil something that might be used for next week):
docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Ad_hz227QtRUZGY3eHhrcGRfMTFmZ3BqejZnbg&hl=en
If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope you've gotten something out of it, be it ideas for your own campaign, or just entertainment.
*cue dramatic music*
My group consists of one Who-fan, one part-time Who fan, and one Who virgin. I designed the first adventure as a slower paced two-parter to kind of ween everybody (myself) in to the new rules. I kept part one Doctor-lite for the benefit of the virgin. To draw everybody in, I broke a cardinal rule of role-playing: everybody played themselves, and the adventure took place in local areas present-day. I felt this was a great way to not only draw the players in easier, but also take the pressure off everybody while learning a new game system. The first adventure is a combination of two local legends: The Beast of Bray Road, and a haunted hotel (The Pfister).
The players' names have been changed to protect the innocent.
==============================
Here is how part one played out (I apologize in advanced for any grammar errors, I'm sure there will be many):
Since their regular Friday night gaming session was cancelled, Jane convinced everyone to drive out to Elkhorn. She thought it would be fun to check out Bray Rd to look for "The Beast." Jim, who is quite unadventurous, was "dragged" along because he basically does whatever Jane tells him to do. Frank, who is just kind of looking for something to do since game night has been canceled, goes along without objection.
The adventure began with the group arriving (in a car driven by Jim) at a T-intersection on foggy night. This was Bray road. The fog was thick and the moon was full. While they were checking out the scenery from the safety of their vehicle, a "jogger" ran from left to right on Bray Rd.
After a short discussion, they turn right. Immediately after turning right, they see a hulking "bear" tackle the "jogger" at incredible speed. Jim quickly swerved and got lucky when the car kissed the ditch, but did not fall in. While Jim was handling the wheel, Jane and Frank got a good look at this "bear." The bear was no bear at all, but an enormous wolf. The wolf was making a meal out of the "jogger" who turned out to not be a jogger at all, but some poor guy in street clothes. The beast and the body were gone in an instant as Jim spun the car around to have a better look (from a safer distance) leaving a puddle of blood, and some torn clothing.
They sit in silence and disbelief for a moment and then quickly start debating what to do next. Eventually, Jane goes silent. As Jim and Frank argue, Jane opens the door and runs to the scene of the attack.
Jim drives the car closer and both he and Frank leave the vehicle to assist Jane in her investigation. Jane finds a hotel card key with a room number (yeah, I know hotel card keys usually don't have the number written on, this one did). Frank finds an old-school Nintendo GameBoy with some blinking lights on the screen and a faint beeping. This GameBoy also has an antenna poking out the top. Jim stands near the car scared out of his wits, repeatedly asking if everyone could get back in the car.
Frank makes out that the GameBoy has been fashioned into some sort of detection device. Whatever it is detecting is very far off to the east, with another "blip" further up the road.
While Frank is playing with the GameBoy, Jane walks to edge of the road where the beast ran and starts yelling "Here wolfie wolfie wolfie!!!!!" At that moment, a third blip shows up on Frank's GameBoy and it's approaching the center point fast.
The trio hurry into the car. As soon as they are inside, the beast appears and heads straight for Jane's door. The beast looks sad as is whimpering with it's face so close to Jane's window. She rolls down the window and starts to pet the blood soaked beast. Before Jim can hit the gas, the beast howls in pain and runs away.
With these events, plus the closer "blip" on the GameBoy, the groups curiosity is piqued and they decide to investigate more, starting with the closer blip on the GameBoy.
They pass various rural homes and farms until they arrive at a large farm with a sign that reads "Hot Rod Cow Farm" (laugh it up, I wanted to include a "DoctorWho/Torchwood" anagram somehow, just for grins
). At this farm, there are large fields, a white farmhouse, and very brightly lit barn.At the farmhouse, there are many parked cars and trucks. It would appear to the casual observer that they are having a party (or other get-together) of some sort. The trio argues in the front yard about what to do long enough to be noticed by a red hooded figure in the window.
Before they know it, they are surrounded by dozens of red robed cultists who are ordered to bring them back into the house. As they pass through a small foya, Jim notices a photo of the cult performing some sort of ritual in a familiar looking ballroom.
They are brought to an altar of sorts in one of the larger rooms of the house where the leader of the cult (whose name is never asked for or revealed). They learn from the leader that this "cult" is a US faction of The Bretheran. This faction differs from the proper Bretheran in that they seek immortality through the wolf, as well as worship it. When she is asked about the collor, the leader strokes a pendant hanging from her neck. She also explains that the Beast is an anomaly: it is a werewolf stuck in wolf form.
The leader quickly tires of the questioning, especially from Jane who she attempts to stab in the throat as Jane is being held down. At that moment, the Beast crashes through a window and starts tearing apart any cultist it can get to.
Saved by the confusion, Jane grabs the pendant and Jim wrestles the knife away from the leader. He also notices a book that was knocked to the floor from the altar and grabs it. Any cultist not getting mangled by the Beast runs for the brightly lit barn while the leader runs through a door leading, presumably, to a basement.
Once the Beast chases the cultists who are running toward the barn, Jim and Frank think it would be prudent to make an escape. Jane, however, states her intention to burn the barn down. Cooler heads prevail, and the trio make it to the car and drive away to safety.
They then use this opportunity to follow the last blip on the GameBoy. The one that seems to be located far east of their current location.
Eventually, their travels take them to Milwaukee. The blip, which has grown in size as they approached it, is centered on the Pfister hotel. There are also new smaller blips within the very large blip.
As the group explores the hotel, they encounter a harmless ghost or two (these were the smaller blips). Jane and Frank head to the bar (at the top floor, which I'm calling the 14th, but I really don't know how many floors are in the real hotel) for drinks. While they do that, Jim inquires at the front desk about any messages or packages held for him. He presents the key card. After he is told that he has no messages and everything held was "cleared out" this morning, Jim joins Jane and Frank who are quite drunk.
While Jane and Frank are living it up and harassing the bartender, Jim opens the book to a dog-eared section. He learns of the Bretherans exploits in Europe, specifically an event in 1879 where they tried to convert Queen Victoria to a werewolf but were thwarted by a stranger known only as "The Doctor" and a "naked girl."
After a long night of drinking, the trio decide to turn in and make use of their hotel key. In the elevator, they encounter an older gentleman bell-hop ghost who takes them to a very strange and darkly-lit floor. He explains that this is their stop: the thriteenth floor. After getting over a bit of disbelief, since this hotel has no 13th floor (instead jumping from 12 to 14 based on superstition), they leave the elevator and explore the 13th floor. The hallway has numerous double-doors presumably to a ballroom. The very drunk Frank sees a pair of doors that don't match the others. These doors are blue. And there is a light coming from the windows. The other doors don't have windows. And this set of doors is slightly ajar.
They let themselves in and discover that the room is like something out of a science fiction movie. They assume this is elaborate decoration for an upcoming convention. At the center of the room, they see a sharply dressed man with a hammer and a blow torch who seems to be "fixing" the pillar in the middle with all the buttons, knobs, and levers.
They ask him what he is doing and he spouts some nonesense about "refueling" on this rift which isn't supposed to be here. He claims it overloaded his "engines." The very drunk Jane mentions how she wants to save "her" werewolf from the Bretheran. At the mention of the Bretheran, the stranger "cures" her and her friend's drunkenness with a pill and asks to be shown where these events happened. They show him a map.
At that, the doors shut by themselves and the man starts fiddling with switches and knobs. Suddenly the pillar in the center of the room starts to move up and down and the floor vibrates. A groaning and a whale-song-like sound is heard.
Frank is so confused. He finally asks the big question: "Who are you?!?"
"I'm the Doctor"
==============================
My first game went better than expected as far as handling the new rules. I believe the entire group had fun and nobody felt they were missing out by not being a Who fan.
The only thing that I am changing for next week is that I over-prepared a bit for this adventure and was often thrown for a loop when the players did something unexpected. Next week, I plan on being better prepared to ad-lib and improvise.
If you're curious on what my notes looked like for this adventure, I've made them publicly available here (if you're one of my players who has stumbled upon this post, don't click this link, it may spoil something that might be used for next week):
docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Ad_hz227QtRUZGY3eHhrcGRfMTFmZ3BqejZnbg&hl=en
If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope you've gotten something out of it, be it ideas for your own campaign, or just entertainment.
