Play@YSDC

Hi Everyone, welcome to The Night of the Jackals, and thanks for playing. This is my first time to run a Gaslight scenario, and I hope you enjoy it.

This particular adventure really has no hook to speak of, so to avoid months of playing 'getting to know you' before the investigation starts, its better if your characters already know each other. As Mr. Handy has an ex-soldier character in mind, former army comrades would be an ideal link, especially as this game has military overtones. So please select an ex- or serving soldier.

It would also be preferable if your character was an officer, as some scenes will take place at a gentlemen's club. This means that your character will either be upper class, or at least middle class. If they are retired, please select an appropriate occupation.

The characters would have been members of the same regiment, which might have a bearing on their background. Infantry and some cavalry regiments recruited geographically (and still do), for example the Connaught Rangers recruited from the counties of western Ireland (Mayo, Galway etc.), so this would be reflected in the character's background. The supporting services such as the Royal Engineers or Service Corps would be more diversified however. if you can't decide on the unit, I'll select one for you.

One of the main NPCs is the uncle of one of the characters. He is Alan Paice, formerly a lieutenant in the Royal East Kent Regiment (known as the Buffs) and who now has a bookshop in the Charing Cross Road. His unit is the one which served in Sudan and is now under threat. You can learn about the Buffs and the Mahdist War here to give you some background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffs_(Ro ... _Regiment) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahdist_War

Can one of you select yourselves to be his nephew?

My chars name and story can easily be edied to fit the family bounds with alan if you wish to

Thanks for volunteering to be the nephew, you don't have to change your story or name. He can be your maternal uncle.

HoneyDog wrote:Thanks for volunteering to be the nephew, you don't have to change your story or name. He can be your maternal uncle.

alright, i hope i didn't get myself a family curse with that

Now everyone is ready, we can begin. I'll start the thread later tonight.

The companions will be meeting for a reunion, reminiscing about their service days and time in the colonies, and generally catching up.

Oh man, I'm so sorry, I didn't realise the thread already started. I'll hop in.

Team, I'm holidaying this week in a tiny beach town, I do have phone internet but may not be as prolific in my posting. - Andy

It sounds awful Andy. Try not to go insane from lack of internet access.

Fear not HoneyDog. The beach, fish + chips, over eating, over drinking, some fishing, and numerous visits to the cafes shall help fight off the SAN loss.

BTW, and forgive me if everyone knows this already, but in reference to Capt Harry's comments, technically the ranks of Inspector and above were commissioned officer ranks in the British police forces at that time.

Like I said, it sounds awful! The place is probably crawling with Deep Ones.

I had thought that the commissioning of officers was a military thing, and such stuff was avoided in the police, but I'm really not an expert, so I apologise if I'm in error. Harry has irritated the Sergeant anyway, and you won't be getting anything else out of him!

Excellent! It wouldn't be Gaslight without some inter-class "interaction"!!

Merry Xmas!

Happy Holidays Everyone! Especially Cthulhu worshippers.

Lockhart's is a coffee house referred to in the Sherlock novel The House of Silk by A Horowitz. I have no idea if it actually exists! Good story by the way, a decent effort at a licensed Holmes novel. Good audio book too. Grim though.

You stowed your case at the left luggage office and went with her to a coffee house. Might it have been Lockhart's? I'm told the coffee there is particularly good.'

Lockhart's Cocoa Rooms were the Victorian equivalent of Starbucks, or to be more anglocentric, Costa Coffee. I don't have an address, but there was probably one in the West End.

Ha! There you go, learn something every day. I am reassured to know my reliance on Mr Holmes (as interpreted by Mr Horowitz) was well placed.

Somewhere in my bookshelf, I know I have some kind of source book on Victoria's London. Must go find it.

PS. Exclusive extract: House of Silk | Herald Sun
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/exclus ... 1514331001

Happy New Year Everyone. Keep praying to the Great One.

As HelplessBystander is away, I'll roll for him to keep things moving. juulm too - I hope we haven't lost him!

SAN rolls hate me.

Get ready, that was only the first...

Sorry for being so inactive. China's making keeping up with RPs difficult. Will try to squeeze one in at one point in time.

Don't worry. Helena is doing something else this evening. After the present evening's events are finished I'll begin a new thread for the next day, and Helena can rejoin the investigations.

That's a Fleming quote!

Eh? The previous post?

I think he means my "three times is enemy action" line. I wasn't sure who originally said it. I knew it was an anachronism, but it was too perfect not to use it here.

Oh I see. I thought perhaps Helena was a character in a Bond novel, and Bond was saying that she was doing something else this evening as one of his pithy one-liners. She's busy floating face-down in a canal or something.

Sorry, should have been more specific. I know it's from a Bond novel by Fleming. It may be that the quote or a variation predates Bond anyway. And in any event, it's arguable Bond / Fleming was an anachronism by the mid 20th century himself!

The quote was perfectly apt!

Addendum: Appears from a Google search to be from Goldfinger. Cue Shirley Bassey

(I am a secret fan of the better Fleming novels and the better movies.)

I've only ever read Casino Royale. I didn't think that much of it, but maybe I should try another one.

The Fleming / Bond short stories are pretty good, bearing in mind when they were written. Of all the novels, I think On Her Majesty's Secret Service is my personal favourite. Not all are perfect but the better ones are escapist.

I've seen almost all of the Bond movies, I think except for Spectre. I enjoy them too. I've only read one of the novels, Thunderball, and that was so long ago I don't remember it. Fleming's own exploits during World War Two are also fascinating.

Yes, I read about the history of 30 Assault Unit, Fleming was quite a character.

I gave up watching Bond movies after watching Skyfall. Actually, I gave up going to the cinema after that.

Yes, Fleming's own exploits are fascinating. I do enjoy reading about real military history, esp WWII.

Thunderball was one of the good novels, also From Russia With Love, and Goldfinger, and the short stories. Like the movies though, some love them, some hate them. Personally, I can always watch the Connery movies and have really enjoyed Daniel Craig's efforts but hey, to each their own.

Honeydog, that is tragic though! I truly love going to the movies (and not just for 007). The perfect trifecta for this summer/winter/Xmas: Star Wars, Murder on the Orient Express, Darkest Hour. I am a happy happy camper at the moment.

In fact I've given up watching films altogether; now I usually only watch them on the plane. There's lots of good tv nowadays, and you get a better story than a 2-3 hour film.

Fair enough!

We are indeed in the second Golden Age of television, though I still watch movies. However, I don't watch them in the theater any more for the most part. Other than the new Star Wars movies, I haven't seen any in the theater for years. I watch them on the plane too (though I rarely get the chance), and also on TV. The ones I watch on TV are often older movies.

I don't really have the time to sit down and watch a whole movie anymore. And anyway I'm often left feeling "meh" after watching something, like I've seen it all before.

Gotta say I love the cinema. This summer, since about 01/01/18:
Star Wars
Orient Express
Darkest Hour
The Post

(Admittedly, The Post had the advantage of being in a well air conditioned cinema yesterday when it was 42°C here. Nonetheless, a top class movie.)

But I just love the cinema experience and it's not for everyone.

Oh no, I used to enjoy the cinema, until I saw Skyfall. I'll probably have to go back though with the children to watch Lion King 15: Revenge of the Wildebeest or whatever when it comes out.

I'll start a new thread for the next day. You can all discuss your plans over breakfast with Helena. HelplessBystander, please rejoin the action.

By the way, it's not just former members of the same regiment being targeted, but the same battalion, the 2nd Buffs.

I really need to come clean 'cause I don't want you to waste your time - don't bother with libraries and newspapers and stuff, you won't find anything. The events that precipitated this mystery are too recent and too secret to have been written about. This mystery is particularly people focused; its a bit different to the average CoC scenario I think.

Engage in dialogue with the NPC's! HoneyDog loves to dialogue, it's his job as it happens. Who knows what mysteries you'll discover!

No worries, will redirect.

Is Helena at breakfast with the other PCs?

I would have assumed so but HelplessBystander hasn’t shown up yet, so if you want I can start individual threads and you can begin chasing down your leads.

Despite what my character says I'm not knocking your approach andyw - I was actually thinking the library mentioned at the army and navy club might have a role for research at some point in the game but since our keeper has let slip otherwise we'll just have to crack on and preserve HD's sanity.

All good.

All your mini-threads are played out. Shall we advance to 6 pm, and you are back together to discuss your findings? We will go back to the original Chapter 5 thread.

I should have mentioned, I'm on a course interstate this week, can only post a bit in the evenings. Cheers, Andy

Golly! I don't know what that is, but have fun.

Sorry, I meant interstate as in not in my home city but in another city in another state. Otherwise, very unglamorous I'm afraid.

I have to get used to this Gaslight lingo!

Who dares to ask for the address of the late Major Gower? What yarn will you spin to convince the stoic staff of the Army and Navy Club? Who will take up this challenge?

I like your new icon Wruter. Is that the project you were working on by chance?

Preston could say he was the attending doctor at the murder and needs the address for his records or to write a death certificate.

Thank you, HD, it is. I have a story being published soon in a new companion book for the game Ghastly Affair.

That is a good idea.

Congratulations on getting your story published!

That would be an acceptable approach.

Congratulations Wruter! So the scenario has become a story now?

That's very cool, congrats. It is my life dream to get something published!

Yep, congratulations!

Thanks for the congratulations.

Not a scenario, HD, basically I wrote a novel based on the backstory of a character I was playing in the game just for fun, I contacted the game's publisher directly about it and they accepted it as an official tie-in. They wanted this new short story about the same character for inclusion in this companion book along with all the (more important) game content. A bit unusual, really.

Hmm, that doesn't look so good.

For what it's worth, the Gower address thing was just covering all bases, in case he still had important treasures stashed at his place, which we could have checked eventually (or have the police check). Obviously, the main game for Harry was next morning at the museum with one person to talk to and one potential suspect, now we'd got some idea what was going on.

I have no clue why Helena decided to even go the path of getting Norton's address, I thought it was exceedingly evident Norton was hiding out in the Club, he'd given us the pertinent info, and all I wanted was Gower's address. And I'm not trying to start an argument here but, Helplessbystander, given the parameters of the game, a female spy was going to have access problems. A Hollywood-esque Cockney urchin from Mary Poppins would probably have had more luck. Sometimes, your favorite character just won't fit in.

Well, fuck it, I was really enjoying this game. Let me know if you decide to kick it off again sometime, Honeydog.

I don't think we should give up on the game. I think you're doing a fine job as Keeper, HoneyDog, and I'd like to continue playing.

No offence taken, andyw666, I think I had been a bit to out of the left field on this one as well. If I pissed you off as a KP, HD, I really do apologise. It just goes to show that my skills as a PL needs improvement, honestly, I did have a different character idea in mind when I had joined the scenario. I do hope we get to finish the scenario.

HD, if it really did bother you that much that my character didn't fit into the plot, I promise that I am willing to submit a new character to have a stronger fit into the overall plot. It's genuinely not my intention to be the annoying ass that no one wants around the table. I wasn't trying to be passive-aggressive to the KP, but after rereading my posts, I could see that my posts could be interpreted that way. Sincere apologies. You are doing a fine job as a keeper.

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to run the game.

As you all want to continue I'll carry on, I don’t want to have wasted your efforts.

I understand about the Gower address Andy – it wouldn’t have taken long to look into, but there’s no way for you to get it now. Just letting you know it wouldn’t have made any difference.

HelplessBystander, your character is fine, you just need to understand that what you do affects the others that you’re playing the game with too. So if your character behaves badly, or is caught doing something wrong, it’s going to have consequences for the others. If I'm asking you to reconsider your actions, its because I have this in mind. Please try to play as a team; there will be times when your character cannot play a full part due to the circumstances, but we can make up for that at a later point. And you yourself admitted to the passive-aggressive thing – please, it’s really not an endearing trait and I fail to see why you want your characters to act that way. And it’s not just this game.

I feel I’m being too bossy and trying to push you all in a particular direction; I’m sorry for that and I’ll be more flexible.

Shall we start the game at the next day? You can decide which clues you want to follow up.

I'll check out your story Wruter.

I don't know if I'll get a file of the book or anything but if I do I'll send you.

A fresh start the next day sounds good. I'm sure we've all learned something from this experience.

Yes, I'm ready to move on to the next day too.

Okay, decide what you want to do here and I'll begin the action.

We may need to revisit the Colonel and try to find out the names and addresses of everyone else who was on that mission.

YES!! YES!! YES!! The game's afoot again!!

I don't want to be domineering but I think the colonel isn't going to be receptive to further visits until we have some good further evidence too present to him / blackmail him with. My suspicion is another visit right now would result in the dogs / police / shotguns / Dark Young being unleashed.

Harry is of course itching to get to the museum to talk with Geoffrey Jordan, and find out about Mounir Faez.

After a nice breakfast somewhere perhaps.

I agree with andyw, the museum and the Egyptian connection with the two men and the mummy seems to be the way to go.

I saw your post on the fiction page Wruter. I will have a read of your book when I'm finished what I'm reading at the moment.

I didn't know that Ghastly Affair was an RPG, I thought it was just Victoria Silverwolf's own scenario!

You are too kind. It's just a pulp story, really.

Well, I'm sure Victoria would take that as a compliment!

I agree with heading to the museum as I see no other course of action. Though I do suppose it’s one course of action to stalk Norton outside the club, waiting for a moment when he decides to buy groceries or something, and I am pretty sure that would be a very stupid idea.

So yeah, I think it would be the course of action for the moment to just have Helena follow the other guys to the Museum for now.

Yes, but everyone’s already at the museum. Please have a look at the new thread and see which group you want to go with.

As a die-hard Sherlock Holmes fan, I have to point out the amusing parallels betwixt this adventure and The Sign of Four:

- Veterans of the Buffs feature.
- There is (apparently) an ill-gotten treasure brought back from campaigns abroad.
- Said treasure is (apparently) leading to veterans being murdered.

Obviously, in TSo4, the treasure hails from India not Egypt/Sudan though.

Thoughts:
- The Sign of Four remains my favourite Holmes story so I'm happy.
- I hope to Cthulhu that there isn't an Andaman Islander lurking...
- Let's get a bloodhound named Toby.

Yes, The Sign of Four is one of the best tales. The TV adaptation was really good too. The similarities are probably intentional, I would think. No bloodhounds though.

I'll look out for it as I've recently started reading the stories, most of them for the first time.

The Adventure of the Speckled Band is my favourite.

In order to keep things moving, let's just have Helena accompany Harry, while the others go to see Jordan. I'll split the threads and start new ones later tonight.

My spell check keeps changing Abadan to "An Arab".

Coincidence? I think not...

Sorry Andy! No Arabs in this adventure, unfortunately.

Alright!

Ebinthetropics will take over the role of James Winter, so I will try to get him involved as soon as possible. Welcome to Eb!

Welcome welcome!

Thanks! Looking forward to this!

At the earliest opportunity, lets contrive to bring Winter back into this, so if anyone has the chance to pop home, they can see a message from him.

Definitely, one way or another Harry will be heading home shortly.

How do you put text in the spoiler button? I can use the "spoiler" tool just fine, but the button only says "show". I've tried using the "spoiler-button" tool but it never seems to work in preview.

Ummm, not to be picky but handguns don't normally get a damage bonus. Your weight and muscle don't make that bullet go faster. A little 32 shoots a lot of rounds (ie. 3) in a turn and each does 1d8 if it hits.

(Rules, p.41, 64.)

I was wondering about the bonus myself, but I thought it must be a situational thing due to the nature of the creatures. No character has a damage bonus of 1D8, and Dr. Preston has a 1D4 damage bonus.

Who is this 'Rooter' fellow who's hijacked the game?

Sorry, boss. Didn't like the old username.

Rooter is Wruter. Yesterday he asked me to change how his username was spelled.

Sorry for my long, long unexplained absence. I got a lot of things piled up and forgot to check the forums for updates. So...quick question, is Helena still alive? I'd like to get back into the game.

Er... you managed to post in the other games, I see.

For the moment Helena is at home. The action will return to Colonel Hollingsworth’s mansion later, and she can rejoin there. It’s up to you to follow the action, though.

I, uh, I promise I'll try and post more frequently.

Hmm, ominous chapter heading...

I've always wanted to be able to write "Good god, Digby, have you taken leave of your senses?"

Very Victorian.

Are you a Victorian, Andy?

In spirit for the era - absolutely! Too much 19th century set fiction has affected me.

(To be distinguished from my countrymen across the border in the State of Victoria. I'm definitely not one of them - pah!)

Australians should stick together, andy, and channel it into something more productive, like looking at the New Zealanders...

No, bugger that! As we say, kick a Vic!

I mean, as a Melbournian, I take offense to that. It's all fun and games unless you're a NSW-er.

Nope, I'm not, but I still have no sympathy for Victoria. Still, at least you're not from Tassie. Or Kiwi-land.

Oooh, that's true.

I retract my grumbling about my 95%

Are you aiming at Faez, Andy?

Oh hell yes! Sorry if that wasn't clear from my post.

Umm, Honeydog, while I hate being a rules lawyer, I have some concerns with what just happened:

1. A .38 pistol only fires twice a turn if readied in any event, not three times. (Only a .32 or smaller gets off three shots, and .32s are means to be pretty rare in the Victorian era, BTW.)

2. This guy actually had to draw this weapon to fire it. To quote the rules, "In this second DEX cycle now also include (a) those making hand-Io·hand attacks, (b) those firing who needed either to draw their pistols or to shoulder their rifles or shotguns, and (c) those firing for a second time in the round." The rules then go on to talk about firing a third shot at half DEX of your weapon fires three shots a turn.

I have always played it that someone drawing a pistol only gets off one shot that turn due to the difficulties of drawing and firing. But even if you were being generous, the rules read to me that only a three shots a turn weapon gets off that last one at half DEX.

Ie. You have a holstered .38. You can draw it and get off one shot at hand to hand DEX.

You have a holstered .32. You can draw it and get off one shot at hand to hand DEX. A generous GM might then allow a second shoot at half DEX but I wouldn't.

The cultists attacked first - Faez and the other man. Faez failed and then Harry attacked him. My way of thinking is that the third man drew his gun as Faez was attacking. Does that sound okay?

I concede your point on the last shot though. I can go back and edit, no problem. I really loathe combat rounds.

andyw666 wrote:Standing up, Harry draws his trusty service revolver, pointing it carefully at the ceiling, and collects his cane with his left hand. He plans to guard the coffin and is watching Faez and his workmen very carefully, particularly ready in case anyone pulls a weapon.

First up, it's still a 38, it doesn't get a third shot.

Seconds, Harry was ready to act as soon as these guys did anything. That was the point of my earlier post. I would have said round one was Faez grabs cane (and reaches for weapon although that's GM poetic licence), Harry shoots him, thug draws pistol and fires one shot.

I think the point of the system is that a person with a drawn pistol can get off a shot very quickly compared to someone drawing one.

Yes I conceded your point on the third shot already.

I don’t concede your other point. The man drew in the first attack round. I forgot to add the point blank bonus so Harry should probably be dead.

OK, just rewind to the beginning of the events...

Harry is watching Faez and his crew like a hawk and is frankly expecting betrayal. He has his gun out and is ready to act.

Round 1, My understanding is Faez grabs Harry's cane and the thug draws a pistol. Faez shouldn't really get two actions so shouldn't be drawing as well.

If that is what Harry saw, he wouldn't have shot at Faez, he would have shot at the thug who was the greater threat - and as Harry was ready with pistol drawn, Harry would have acted first.

If that isn't what Harry saw, then the thug has not yet drawn his pistol and doesn't get a shot at all.

Round 2 - either thug is down and Faez is drawing a pistol or Faez is down and thug is drawing a pistol. Someone will get off a shot unless Harry shoots then first.

(I appreciate that you may not love the combat rules but the idea is it's a system we can all understand and plan by to try to minimise our Pc's risks. I'm not trying to be a game wrecker here but have made assumptions and decisions based on how I expect the rules to work.)

It seems reasonable to me that a person could use one hand to grab a cane and the other to start pulling a gun. But if the rules don’t allow it fine. But you’re assuming Harry can see the other man. His attention would be on Faez, no? This is why I moved Faez in front of Harry, in order to block his view.

*SIGH* I'm feeling like this isn't getting very far.

First, as stated, Harry is actively trying to watch these people. All of them. I didn't read anything that suggested he couldn't see all of them. Maybe a description that said after Faez moved, Harry couldn't see a thug would have been warranted? Or at least an Idea roll to realise the issue or maybe a Spot Hidden roll to see what the thug was doing? But if you're trying to watch three people you don't trust and suddenly you can't see one of those people, if you could then you would move so you can see them all again. And if Harry can't see the thug, how can the thug see Harry to shoot him anyway?

It is still my view that the thug who has to draw a pistol - while being watched - should not be able to get off a whole lot of shots before the guy with a drawn pistol can shoot.

Second, it is a game with rules simulating reality and what I'm more concerned about is playing within the rules. Having said that, in the RW doing something physically complex like trying to grab a cane AND trying to draw a firearm stuffed down your pants is not possible. It is like rubbing your stomach and patting your head but under extreme pressure with adrenalin pumping and heartbeat racing. Trust me, it is not possible for mere mortals and you're more likely to drop the gun.

I'm concerned we've reached an impasse here though which is frustrating and disappointing at this point of the adventure. I have enjoyed it until now and hope I've contributed to the enjoyment. This might be a good time for me to have a break from gaming.

I appreciate it’s hard to get a clear idea of what is happening, but if I write too much I run the danger of telegraphing my intentions. I do want to make it more exciting if I can.

The thug could see Harry because Faez had been shot and collapsed.

I don’t think it’s possible to know how everyone might react in a certain situation regarding adrenaline etc.

I’m trying to be conciliatory though Andy. The game is nearly finished anyway, and I’d like to finish despite my flagging enthusiasm.. I’ve conceded my error on the third shot and I accept that perhaps a character cannot do two things at once. But you need to accept it if you get out maneuvered and things don’t go your way.

If Mr. Handy doesn’t mind I’ll ask him to adjudicate, and if he says the npc actions are unreasonable I’ll edit the posts. Is that acceptable?

On second thoughts, let’s just retire this game. I haven't really been enjoying it as I seem to just be pissing people off, so before we all fall out forever let’s chuck it in the bin. I'm sorry that some players have been frustrated by decisions I've made, but they've been made in regards to how I've perceived this scenario to work in the most logical and coherent manner.

Game is cancelled. I’m sorry but I don’t want to do it anymore. I really have no enthusiasm for this one, it's not really working.

Start afresh on another forum maybe.

Sigh. Four months and it was almost done. Well, thanks for sticking with it this far, HD. It seems there was a curse upon this game.

I'm sorry I didn't reply earlier. I was away in London and had less free time than I'd thought, and there was a lot going on here without enough time for me to catch up on it. I would like to continue playing, especially since we're so close to the end. I'm not sure what's going on in the other room, as I haven't been reading the spoiler buttons that don't have my character's name, but going by Andy's account in this thread I think he is correct about the rules. You can draw and fire a gun in the same round, but the gun goes off in the second half of the round, after everyone with a drawn gun has already had at least one shot. I can't see how you can draw a gun and also try to grab someone else's weapons in the same round. The latter action would also be a Grapple, which requires both hands to be free. This is not the case if you're drawing a weapon with one of your hands. A Grapple like that is the only way to "parry" a firearm attack, but failing the roll means the shot goes off (at point blank range). It also seems from the description here that he was trying to grab a cane, not a readied gun. Even if the Grapple is successful, that just means they're both now contesting control of the weapon. It takes a second successful Grapple on a later round to take the weapon away, and then actually attacking with it would not be possible until the round after that.

I appreciate the explanation Mr. Handy, but you might as well remove this one. Sorry.