Play@YSDC

Thread for all OOC needs.

As a warning, this scenario can be pretty dark. A lot depends on how things turn out. If any of you have any questions about content pm or post here and I'll try to answer without spoiling anything.

I was thinking about making a character who is a Sheriff's deputy and brother of one of the Parker parents. Would that be alright?
Also since this is a modern game, are there any big changes to the skill list to take into account?

Can Tobias know a spell and have a Cthulhu Mythos knowledge of around ~10 at the start of the game?

I was considering playing one of Karen's teachers.

Sure. The parents are also fair game, though if none of you play them it's fine, it's not super important. When the game starts you'll all be at the Parker's house for let's say a Sunday social call, maybe a barbecue or something. It's a fairly small town so maybe you grew up with Karen's parents and are just spending time with friends.

HelplessBystander, while I'm not opposed to you having some contact with the mythos before, I'd rather you not have a spell. Half of this scenario is about realizing what sort of evils are out there, and IMO it loses its impact a bit if the characters already know too much. If you really want to you can, but I'd rather the other characters think your fellow was a bit eccentric.

No problem. But would an Elder Sign work? I'm not opposed to having a weak, eccentric-ish character. It's just that Tobias has lived through the worst years of Mythos Influence (1920s~1930s), and I kinda want him to push along the plot a bit. I don't want to be That Guy. So I'm fine with the Keeper's verdict.

Thinking about it some more,a little cthulhu mythos could easily be included in this scenario. As for an Elder Sign, I'm willing to allow it.

Thanks!

Cotton wrote:I was thinking about making a character who is a Sheriff's deputy and brother of one of the Parker parents. Would that be alright?
Also since this is a modern game, are there any big changes to the skill list to take into account?

Sorry, yeah that's fine. As for skills, none that I'm aware of, though others can feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken.

There needs to be appropriate base values for a computer use skill. The KNOW stat needs to be modified (Google), and contact should be instantaneous. Oh yeah, and there's a subreddit for EVERYTHING.


^Probably a good idea to address these issues, or else I'm pretty sure someone could just go to /r/howtokillashoggoth

Ah, but you're assuming this will take place in an area with good WiFi.

I looked up computer use, and the skill seems to start at 01, which is pretty low. Put points in it if you want, but I'm fine with treating Library Use as applicable if you're uing a computer to search up information. It's not 100% accurate but I think it largely fits with what you'd be researching.

Silver Priest wrote:Ah, but you're assuming this will take place in an area with good WiFi.

I looked up computer use, and the skill seems to start at 01, which is pretty low. Put points in it if you want, but I'm fine with treating Library Use as applicable if you're uing a computer to search up information. It's not 100% accurate but I think it largely fits with what you'd be researching.

Cool. I'll modify my character sheet then. Thanks for clearing that up!

Yes, Computer Use starts at 01%. The rules specifically state that it's for computer programming, and that doing research online does use Library Use. Electronics is also on the modern sheet but not the classic one, and it too starts at 01%.

I want to apologize if the game's seemed pretty railroady so far. Without giving too much away, we are approaching the climax and after the next few posts, I plan to step back a little and let you all approach the endgame however you think is best.

No worries. However, what skills do we need to roll to get in contact with the university staff? Luck? Persuade? Fast Talk? Credit Rating?

Probably luck(it's been several years) and persuade.

Okay.

Hey, I'm currently in China, and it's a bit of a struggle getting on the websites that I want to visit like my Gmail (therefore, I cannot get notified when a new post pops up). Can't promise frequent or even timely updates as usual, but will follow 'till the end.

That's fine. I think we're pretty close to the end, but glad to have you aboard. Happy Birthday btw.

Just some random rolls:

[dice]11[/dice] 40 Daniel

[dice]12[/dice] 40 Mabel

[dice]13[/dice] 60

[dice]0[/dice] [dice]1[/dice]

[dice]14[/dice] 20

[dice]15[/dice] 30

[dice]2[/dice]

More rolls:

[dice]0[/dice] 60 Beth attack

[dice]1[/dice] Tree

[dice]2[/dice] Tree

[dice]3[/dice] 70 Alex

And we are done. Thanks for playing guys, it was a really fun scenario for me to run, and I hope you all enjoyed. I was worried things were too railroadey for awhile, but hopefully the ending gave you enough freedom to act.

You all were pretty smart. Had you visited the grove at night, you'd all be pretty much doomed, as the Wild Ones were all alive then. I was surprised you all seemed to trust Peter. Nice as he was he was still a 0 san cultist, not to mention the reason Karen was lured to the town to begin with. He did mean well in his own alien way however. He earnestly believed sacrificing the three of you would convince Beth to spare Karen. Of course, she was going to kill him anyway.

(As for Beth she was also abducted by the Wild Ones years back. She's been long since broken and assimilated into their society, and any who drink of the tree's sap enough times becomes a Wild One. As a woman, Beth dominated the Wild Ones.But not being of Geverlon stock, she was never quite fully favored by the goddess. Karen however would have been, and Beth was enough of a zealot to happily cede her position to Karen. Had you not stopped her Karen too would have become a Wild Woman, but you managed to save her before she suffered too much(comparatively) to lose her humanity.)

The fight in the grove could also have gone very differently, had Tobias not bluffed very well. Without that bluff you'd have had to fight three people with guns, and I don't think your chances would have been very good. The only saving grace is that the cultists would not have wanted you guys dead, but being alive and captured is only a marginal improvement. One thing that never came up was Tobias elder sign. Had the Tree or Beth or any of the Wild Ones touched him, they'd have taken damage. Peter and the more mundane cultists could have still shot him, however, but It could have been an effective tool against the Mythos threat.

Lastly, I had to do a bit of a crossover with Delta Green there. I don't plan for this to be a campaign or anything to really come from it, but thought I'd give a little overview over what happened. Geverlon is eliminated as a threat, but its rot lives on. Daniel did save them a lot of work by destroying all the Wild Ones. Had he neglected that, they'd have taken some losses, as the one Wild One who can be active during the day(Father Allberry) would have revived his fellows and left them in wait for the raid. However they're also disappointing they did not get any corpses of the creatures to study. Considering how the other experiments turned out, however, this is almost certainly a good thing.

That's pretty much it. Hope you guys enjoyed. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to let me know. And thanks for sticking with me for the game.

It was an amazing game. Plenty of twists and turns, and I DID NOT REALISE Father Allberry was a Wild One, I thought he was just a generic cultist.

Though I had guessed that the scenario would involve Shub-Niggurath when the town was essentially only composed of women and a large forest. The Elder Sign turned to be essentially decoration this entire campaign. But if you’re planning some sort of Delta Green campaign next, I’d be happy to let Cotton’s character keep the Elder Sign.

Thanks. Yes, there was little that revealed Allberry's nature as we played. The one big clue as to his nature was that Tobias did shake his hand, and he took damage from that. I believe I had all three of you roll to see if you picked up on his discomfort, but IIRC you either all failed or did not pursue it.

Some of the elements of the scenario were my own creation (such as Beth's backstory, and the Delta Green elements) but Allberry is an interesting figure. It's sort of written that he actually wants the cult to fail so he can go out and cause mischief in other areas. Had you all been captured I'd have probably brought him in and offered you all some Faustian bargain. As for a canon fate for him, I think he'd have taken the opportunity to get out of town and probably form his own cult somewhere else.

One thing I really liked about the scenario is how it gave most of the cultists their own motivation. All are insane, but ones like Peter can align with the players if approached correctly. The sheriff and deputy are another pair. In text whenever a man sleeps with a woman in Geverlon they are killed. But Alex and Mabel have had an ongoing relationship for several years, and lived in fear that they were going to be found out. They too could have been allies if the right screws were applied to them; even then though, they're indirectly responsible for quite a few deaths, and it would have been interesting to see if you guys would have been willing to let them go. As it stands they both me their ends at the tree. It only avoids attacking Wild Ones. Anyone else foolish enough to get close is fair game.

Glad you enjoyed though, and I think the way things turned out was pretty fun in its own right.

It was a great game, and thank you for running it! I hadn't realized at the time that Beth was the woman who had disappeared back in the 1990s, but it occurred to me when I read the epilogue here.

That was great thanks for running the game! I had a lot of fun and quite enjoyed the little hint at Delta Green at the end. If you plan on running anything else from that collection of scenarios I'd be interested in playing those as well.