[IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

A decade ago, a band of occult investigators battled against the summoning of an ancient and monstrous evil. They failed. Now you must piece together the puzzle and finish what they could not. The stakes are high, and so is the price to pay. Can you do it?

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leonardolad
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

Post by leonardolad »

Ian Morin

"Yeah, It makes sense. To the FDIC then."
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

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You quickly find the address of the Federal Building, which is fortunately not too far from your hotel. After less than 30 minutes, you park the car in front of the building, a recent art deco edifice facing a large square decorated with gardens and the ever-present palms. You enter from the front door, and find a directory in the main hall, saying that the FDIC offices are on the second floor.

The FDIC offices are not particularly large. There's a waiting room, and you count no more than half a dozen doors leading to personal offices. A young secretary offers you a smile as she inquires about your business. After a few minutes and some questions asked to the office head, she directs you to Marv Burlington, the responsible for anything regarding the First Bank of Long Beach.

Mr. Burlington is a fat and sweaty man, smoking a cigar as she speaks loudly on the phone. "Look, John, you know I don't have time for your bullshit... I need those numbers... yes, I know, but if you don't have the money... no, another loan is out of question... wait a second", he turns towards you, covering the receiver with one hand, "What do you want?"
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

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Image

"I'm sorry to interrupt important business, Mr. Burlington," says Holly. "We'd like to access a safety deposit box that had been in the First Bank of Long Beach, which has since been closed down."
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

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He tries to shrug you off, but after some pushing and pulling, he grudgingly concedes: "All right, all right... I'll listen... John, I'll have to call you back", he speaks to the phone, before hanging up, "The First Bank of Long Beach... right... we got their stuff. A safety box, you say? Do you have a key or something?"
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

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Image

"Yes, here it is," says Holly, producing the key and showing it to him.
OOC,If it becomes necessary, I'll use Bureaucracy to cut through any red tape.
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

Post by carnage_lee »

OOC:   Christopher has a point in Bureaucracy too, so he'll chip in on that if necessary.  
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

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Mr. Burlington looks at the key for a couple of seconds, then says: "Looks fine to me. We have all the stuff from the First Bank stored into a warehouse in Long Beach. You go there, show the key to the clerk, he'll open you the safety box. I should have the address somewhere..." he checks some papers, then a notebook, and finally writes down an address and passes it to you. He then casts a glance to the clock: "The warehouse is open until 6 pm, though. You won't make it in time today, better try tomorrow". He stands up and offers you his hand to shake.
Bureaucracy,You're quite sure the warehouse is manned 24h. Burlington is clearly trying to get rid of you as quickly as possible, but you could probably get him to make a phone call and allow you to access the safety box later today. A 1-point Bureaucracy, Cop Talk or Flattery spend is required, depending on how you wish to apply pressure on the man.
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

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Image

Holly shakes his hand and smiles warmly. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Burlington," she says. "Of course, you're an important man, so I'm sure you have the authority to keep the warehouse open a little longer. Please? It won't take much time."
OOC,Spending a point of Flattery.
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

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The man looks pleased and perhaps weak to womanly charm. "Well, miss, I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do". He picks up the phone again and this time seems to be talking with a security guard. Shortly after, he gives you the "good to go".

You go back to your cars and drive south towards Long Beach. It's not exactly close, and the sun is starting to set by the time you get in the area. As you get away from downtown, the surroundings become more rural, and after a while, you begin to spot oil derricks, tall as inhuman sentinels against the reddening sky. You also notice many ruined buildings - you remember the 1933 earthquake, and realize that while no one is talking about it anymore - and hasn't for years - there's still much to do here.

The warehouse looks more recent than the earthquake, though, and in perfect shape. It's a low, one-store building, almost square, with a large access for cars and trucks, now closed, and a smaller, white door with the FDIC logo. The guard has already been informed of your arrival and welcomes you in. He talks a lot and offers you coffee, perhaps happy for the diversion your visit offers. After a few minutes, he leads you to a back room where he has already placed the safety box you're looking for. You slid in your key while the guard provides the bank master key, and you hear a low click as the box opens. The guard leaves you alone to check the contents.

You feel the usual surge of excitement as you peer inside for the first time. The first thing you notice is a bunch of photos, at least two dozens. You take them out one by one, and even at first sight, you realize they're... extreme. They were most likely taken at the cult ceremonies, and anyone willing to inspect them in detail should be ready for anything. Under the photos, there's a big black notebook, full of numbers and what appears to be codenames ("firelight", "knife", "tiger", and many others). At first glance, you can't make much sense of it.
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

Post by Dave Syrinx »

Image

Outside, by the cars, Clarance is keeping an eye out for snooping passers by. He nurses a cigarette and leans against the driver's door, claiming some of the lane as his private sphere. In his mind, he plans for the route back, estimating some alternate routes should the need arise to get dodgy.

OOC:   A point in Shadowing is spent for memorizing and computing a viable way back to the hotel, or hotels as it seems. Four was it? A reverse Shadowing was what I had in mind.  
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The soul trembles before emptiness and desires contact at any price. Doctor Glass

"It is invigorating, being asked personal questions." "Makes one feel desired." Luv (BR2049)
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

Post by leonardolad »

Ian Morin

Ignoring the photos, Ian takes the notebook and starts skimming through it.
OOC:   I have Accounting, so maybe I can make some sense of it.  
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

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Ian checks the notebook, trying to make sense of the numbers. After a couple of minutes, he is fairly sure that this is, in fact, an accounting book, but there's some sort of code in it that needs to be cracked.
Dave,While Shadowing is used to succesfully follow someone without being noticed, the ability needed to realize you're being followed is Sense Trouble. While Clarence has no points in it, you can still roll 1d6 against an opponent's Shadowing roll (you obviously don't know if there's any, but you roll anyway as a precaution). In general, points can be spent from the ability pool to boost the roll (i.e. I spend two points from my Sense Trouble pool and get to roll 1d6+2 against the opponent's Shadowing roll, that can be boosted as well). Usually, there's no need to spend points to succeed an uncontested action, especially if that action is routine. If your character has Shadowing, we can expect him to know how to actually shadow someone, and any trick that might be useful. You don't need to spend any point right now - your private investigator simply knows how to do his job. "Spends", as they're referred to in ToC, are needed only in particular situations. By the way, if you feel you want to move some points around on Clarence's sheet, change his abilities a little, this is the right moment. You can find a list of all the abilities on the quick start rules. They're straightforward, but if you have any doubt feel free to ask me.
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

Post by carnage_lee »

Christopher Fontana

Christopher hangs back with Clarance figuring that two pairs of eyes are better than one and loiters near the card and the entrance to the warehouse, surreptitiously keeping an eye out for trouble.
OOC:   Using 'sense trouble' to get a feel of if anything untoward is looming.

[dice]0[/dice]  
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

Post by Dave Syrinx »

Image

Clarance looks at Christopher and asks in hushed sentences, "Chris, Did we ever recover information about where Katherine Clark is laid to rest? I have an inkling that there might be more to uncover of we find her photographs. And according to the notebook there should be material either where she lies or at her apartment. Other than that, I can't help but wondering if we're still under watch."
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The soul trembles before emptiness and desires contact at any price. Doctor Glass

"It is invigorating, being asked personal questions." "Makes one feel desired." Luv (BR2049)
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

Post by Mr. Handy »

Image

"Perhaps you can have a look at the book, Mr. Cameron," says Holly, glancing at it. "Maybe you can crack the code. I'll look through the photos." She begins to examine them, bracing herself for the worst. Someone has to do it, and she is resilient, so she figures it might as well be her.
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

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Holly,The photos are perverse and disturbing pictures, clearly taken from concealment, each one capturing between three and a dozen people engaged in depraved sex acts in a variety of interior and exterior locations. Even to someone like [b]Holly[/b], that has studied all kind of deviances, seeing this kind of stuff - actually seeing it, not reading about it in a book... It's enough to shake her. Perhaps some part of her never thought things like these were actually happening, somewhere. [spoiler][ooc]Roll against a Stability loss.[/ooc][/spoiler] Slightly more than than half the photos were taken in one or more residences of opulent yet tasteful decoration and costly furnishings. A couple more interior photos were taken in a much more mundane working class apartment, or servant's room. A few of the photos were taken outside, in private gardens. The people in the photos are well coiffed, and some wear elaborate jewelry, but there's no piece of clothing in sight to help determining their social status. You notice one man, apparently of Latin American descent, appearing in all the photos. He is the only one featuring in all of them, and he is participating with gusto in all the "group activities". You also notice that [b]Edgar Job[/b] is present in a couple of the photos. He looks much younger than when you met him, and he is also apparently quite enjoying the situation. You look around the photos for [b]Olivia Clarendon[/b], but can't seem to find her anywhere. There's another face that strikes you as familiar, though... a man that appears in three different photos. You try to recall... and finally it comes to you. The man is [b]Richard[/b]... Richard something. Used to feature in B-movies back in the early twenties. You can't quite make up his surname, or any other useful information, after all these years, but you're sure a few minutes in a public library will be enough to dig up all you need to know about his life.
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

Post by Mr. Handy »

Image

Holly's jaw drops, and her face goes ashen. She can't imagine what Katherine Clark felt when she took these pictures, but it was probably similar to how she feels now.
OOC,Stability roll: [dice]0[/dice]
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

Post by Overlord87 »

After looking at the photos, Holly feels she really needs a breath of fresh air.
Spoiler:
OOC:   Holly loses 1 point of Stability.  
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

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Image

Holly puts the pictures down and fans herself. "I...I'll be all right," she says. "I think I'd better step outside for a minute. I recognized someone in the photos. We can talk about it later, once I've recovered." She packs up the photographs, gets up, and makes her way out.
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
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Re: [IC - LOS ANGELES] Welcome to L.A.

Post by carnage_lee »

Christopher Fontana

"Not that I recall, I don't think notebook mentioned anything like that.. just mad ramblings about the 'thing with many mouths' and 'was it all real'... I guess we'll know more if the others get access to the deposit box." Christopher replies after a few moments of thought. He looks up and down the street, "That's what worries me too, we can just keep our 'eyes' peeled' and be as careful as possible. Anyway.. how would yo go about tracing Katherine's grave?" he asks the Private Investigator.
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