Play@YSDC

Please use this thread for OOC discussion and any other comments.

Thanks for the character details.

I now need a way to link your characters and get them to the start of the scenario together.

I was thinking that Wessells is acquainted with Holst from his time at university in Arkham, when he became a frequent visitor to the latter's bookstore in the town and the two hit it off on a social basis. Holst's elderly uncle Howard is recovering at his home in Bolton after breaking his hip and Harrison regularly visits him to check things are okay, and to take him to the town's hospital every Saturday.

On Sundays Harrison has an evening supper with his uncle, and this time is bringing his friend John Wessells. Howard Holst is a reasonably well known writer of detective fiction and with Wessells looking to make a breakthrough into the literary world, Harrison believes the meeting over dinner may be interesting and useful to both parties.

How does that sound to you both? It's a little prescriptive I guess but seems plausible?

It sounds fine and plausible. Yes, the two characters know each other from their Miskatonic days.

That sounds great. Also, Holst and Wessels had a shared supernatural experience during 'Paper Chase', which would have strengthened thier acquaintance.

Ah yes, I see Holst and Wessells are already good friends. (I just read through all of Paper Chase, nice adventure and well played, both are good characters.)

I'll post the opening scene later today I hope, and we'll be underway. This is my first stab at running a CoC scenario and you are both pretty experienced so feel free to chip in with advice or suggestions if needs be.

John Spot Hidden 29: Spot Hidden: 1d100 18

John SAN 60: SAN: 1d100 64

Chaps I'm flummoxed. How do I write the code/use the buttons to show a D3 sanity loss result in a post?

Press the Dice button and in the square brackets type 1d3 (or indeed whatever dice you want to roll). You can post it in between the Spoiler-Button tags if you want to.

No, couldn't figure it out, at least not using the post preview tab, so used the 'Rolladie.net' instead. You'll have to trust me on die rolls until I master it.

This thread has instructions on how to use the dice roller.

No problem Honeydog,could you make a Str roll and let me know the result here. I'll be opposing it with Corbitt's result.

At the same time, I'll need a Luck roll from you please Jp.

[Spoiler-Button]Bernard Corbitt Size Roll: 60 [dice]0[/dice][/Spoiler-Button]

Well the code didn't work but the roll did. 97. A fumble.

I await John's roll with interest

One luck roll, coming up!

Luck 48 hard pass (just!),[dice]0[/dice]

John Strength 50: Strength: 1d100 22

Please be patient with me, I'm still getting used to the 7th edition rules.

Edit - I'm still getting used to the 6th edition rules too.

It's fine, there's no hurry. The pace of the game/posts is fine I think.

Well, I think one way or another we're entering a combat!

Dex scores determines who gets to act first, etc. Unfortunately for the investigators Corbitt has a high Dex score so goes first. Then Holst, then Wessells.

I need a Fighting (Brawl) roll from Wessells please.

A success (25 or under on 1d100) is required for Wessells to successfully restrain Corbitt. If not, he'll succeed in pushing John away and scrabble back further down the hallway.

If Corbitt is prone and John is standing over him, wouldn’t John have the advantage?

Since Corbitt did fumble I'll agree that John made it inside and into a position standing over him, and give you a bonus dice on the Brawl roll.

Okay - Fighting: 1d100 45 It's a fail.

Honeydog, with the bonus dice you get to roll another d100 and you take the lowest roll as your result. Essentially another attempt to succeed.

Fighting: 1d100 49 Fail!

From his position in whatever room he's entered, does Harrison know that Corbitt has got free?

jp1885 wrote:From his position in whatever room he's entered, does Harrison know that Corbitt has got free?

Working through things in combat order (which we briefly entered) Harrison never actually made it as far as the room. Here's how it played out:

John pushed against the door, forcing Corbitt back. As John entered the hallway Corbitt fell back and gashed his head, with John standing over him. Harrison entered the hall behind John, exchanged words with him and then had the intention of looking for something to restrain Corbitt. Before he could do so however, Corbitt lashed out at John and fled down the hallway and turned right, out of view of the investigators.

Harrison needs to decide if he'll give chase after Corbitt with John, or do something else.

Hopefully that makes sense. Being new to the role of keeper on these boards I should maybe have made it more explicit when we go into combat rounds, or chases, as there's a distinct order to how things proceed and we got a little out of synch. Please let me know if either of you needs a fuller explanation of how combat or chases work.

It’s all good; that’s what OOC boards are for

John SAN 59

SAN: 1d100 100

Ha! John's in a lot of trouble. I can't believe I rolled that. Last time I did my character died.

It was quite a graphic description though! I can't imagine seeing something like that.

Hehe, I'm going to have to look back at the Sanity rules now. Although since John (and Harrison's) exposure to the full horror of the Cthulhu world is limited I'm thinking that any effects will be temporary in nature.

I'll post once I've checked things out.

Okay chaps, you both fumbled your Sanity rolls so you both take a 6 point Sanity loss. Since this is more than 5 points as the result of one roll, I'll need you both to roll Int checks. Perversely, you want to fail or you'll go temporarily insane...

INT 80: Know: 1d100 85

John is safe.

INT 50,[dice]0[/dice]

Hah! Insanity here we come!

Where can they go now? I presume that they've left the police station, so they must be somewhere putting this all together.

I took the liberty of cutting to the chase regarding what Harrison and John managed to piece together about the previous night's events, since to play through it on the game thread would have been time consuming (in game time it would have taken the rest of the day to fully dredge their memories), and potentially confusing, for no real gain in the storyline.

Since John and Harrison got a taxi into Bolton from Arkham, my assumption was that they'd return there by the same method to go through it all, but of course if you'd rather they went/did something else then feel free to play it through.

I've edited my last post so that grammatically it reads a little better, and I'll delete your OOC question from the game thread once we move on.

I'm happy for them both to draw breath at Harrison's place in Arkham as their memories re-establish themselves.

There are a number of options regarding research into Corbitt, some of which may well be dead ends, others more productive.

In Bolton there's the Local History Society. It has a small office off Main Street near the town hall. There's also the local newspaper, the 'Bolton Democrat & Chronicle' which has an extensive library of back issues, as does the town library on Stretton Avenue.

The nearest medical school is in out of state in Boston, this should have details of students and graduates from year past.

Finally, there's the State Record Office in Concord, which will hold basic details of the history of Corbitt's business.

Any of these would be a good place to begin.

I reckon Concord and Boston first - let Corbitt think we’ve slunk off with our tails between our legs.

Apologies - Bolton is in MA, so the Records Office is in Boston

Do you want to head straight to the offices of the Bolton Democrat & Chronicle on Main Street in Bolton? There's a direct train from Boston but you'll only have a couple of hours before the office closes for the day.

Alternatively you can head back to Arkham and go by cab to the newspaper office in Bolton early the following morning.

John Library Use 50: Library Use: 1d100 11

The Corbitt Enterprises warehouse is situated in the docks area of Bolton on the bank of the James River.

It's getting late - remember the investigators have just spent the entire day at the D&C offices in Bolton, then travelled the five miles back to Arkham in a cab.

If you intend to visit the warehouse right away please let me know how you intend to get there - the options are cab, or the late train from Arkham (less convenient and a longer journey time), or some other means of transport of your own devising. I'll then describe subsequent events in the Adventure thread. You'll also need to take into account how you'll get back to Arkham, if that's your intention, and when - cabs could be difficult to get late at night, as will trains.

Maybe it would be prudent to hire a car, as neither of them seem to own one.

Best to return tomorrow during daylight, so they can get a good look at the place.

Yeah, sounds good to me.

Can I have a Group (hard difficulty) luck roll please? I think it'll be using the highest Luck stat which is 50 on Wessell's sheet.

Here you go.

[dice]0[/dice]Extreme success!

Honeydog, John’s credit rating is slightly higher than Harrison’s. Would you like to do the honours?

If you feel you're at a dead end I'm happy for you to make an Idea roll, regular difficulty. Failing will not be good though...

Idea: 1d100 98

Fail!

INT 50 [dice]0[/dice]Pass!

jp1885 wrote:INT 50 [dice]241655:0[/dice]Pass!

While musing over their next step, it occurs to Harrison in a flash of inspiration that a central issue is where does Corbitt get the body parts he uses? It doesn't seem to be abductions and/or murders, at least not locally, so it must therefore be either from the recently deceased or amputations. Maybe activities at the local hospital are worth looking into?

On what day did we first see Corbitt dropping the limbs on his porch? I guess it was late afternoon / evening?

jp1885 wrote:On what day did we first see Corbitt dropping the limbs on his porch? I guess it was late afternoon / evening?

It was the previous Sunday, early evening. It is now late afternoon on Thursday.

How are you both feeling with the progress of the game? It's my first run at being a Keeper so I'm more than happy with hearing your thoughts/criticisms.

Am I making it too easy, too difficult? Was the Idea roll okay? It's a short scenario with not too much sandbox stuff so I'm concious that I don't want to railroad things, but similarly I don't want you getting frustrated.

I'm happy with how you're running it so far. I'm in a few long campaigns, both on this forum and with my local gaming group, so short scenarios make a nice change.

Harrison and John are both very different characters in temprement and you are handling that well. The idea roll also came at a good time I think.

Considering we've already gone insane once, I would't say you're making it easy!

The pace is good Simon. It’s actually quite difficult to know what to do in this game, as any action against Corbitt carries a lot of risk. There’s nothing wrong with giving a few pointers I think, as players are often not seeing the game in the same way you are, and can go off in all sorts of directions.

Do another one after this – we don’t get enough Classic era games here. Shorter adventures work well, as these things take fucking months to play in this format. Most of the successful games I've played in here have been concise scenarios. One persistent difficulty is players forgetting details as time goes on.

Thanks for the feedback

I've sensed the difficulties in this scenario. I think every new lead needs to be investigated to the full, and perhaps a slightly more surreptitious approach might work well.

simonthompson wrote:...perhaps a slightly more surreptitious approach might work well.

Bump!

Seriously, I think (without wishing to give too much away) that one way or another it's back to Corbitt, either in an outright confrontation - although that approach hasn't gone well so far - or a more cautious one as hinted at above.

Or, and of course I'll understand why since both are great characters, you may simply decide that the investigators are in over their heads and forgetting all about old man Corbitt may be the best option if they want to retain their sanity, liberty and live to fight another day.

I think John might choose to be pragmatic about it and avoid further investigation and risk. They got lucky with the hospital incident, and managed to interfere with Corbitt's supply. He's too powerful to take on directly. Even a secretive approach must mean some kind of confrontation at some point.

I think John will attempt to write and publish a story about it, with a character based on Corbitt but not naming him. That might bring some attention down on him.

Harrison will be loathe to sever relations with his uncle, but also doesn’t want to go near Corbitt again. He will probably wait until Corbitt is exposed (perhaps a drink with a journalist or two) and then re-establish contact with his uncle.

Okay chaps, we'll call it a day on this one then.

Hopefully you enjoyed the game, it was a great learning experience for me and I had a lot of fun. If I could do one thing again it would be to keep Tomaszewki alive at least a little longer. I was too pedantic in following the scenario guidelines (during which he leaps to his death from a high building if confronted), and having him spill some beans might have opened up another route back to Corbitt that was less risky for Harrison and John.

It was a nice scenario to run but it's tough to play Corbitt well without either making it too easy for the investigators or much too difficult.

Anyways, thanks for participating

Thanks for running the game! It was good fun (if only for the interplay between Harrison and John). I assume the limb monster thing was the 'end boss'? If so, there's a GMing lesson for you - never expect your players to do things in the order you want them to!
Tomaszewski's death did seem a bit abrupt; perhaps you could've tried out the much-maligned chase rules and given us a chance to get some information that way? But all in all you did a great job!
I might play Harrison again some time - mind if I use this thread to roll for skill improvements?

Yes, thanks for the game, it was enjoyable. I agree, sometimes following the scenario too closely can be detrimental to play. I was hoping that by having Tomaszewki confess we might have been able to catch Corbitt in the act. With him obviously being powerful, and with the police in his pocket, any attempt at simply doing him in, or my preferred choice of burning down his house, would probably result in death or imprisonment.

I assume that the lady-leg thing was Corbitt’s wife at some point, and the main monster was something else. I'm going to read the scenario and find out.