The Debrief

[Philulhu]

Yes, that would be ideal. Just amend your post with your character details so it’s all together.

[Lost_King]

climbing equipment [good for 150 feet]

Would the climbing equipment include 150 feet of rope, or 300 feet (enough to belay for 150 feet with)? Do we have belaying equipment? Also, would the climbing equipment include pitons? If so, how many per person? Would we have a hammer, or would we have to use our shovels to drive them into the environment?

I hope I’m not over complicating things; it’s fine if you don’t have an answer.

[Mr. Handy]

How heavy are the weapons and ammo we already have?

[Snapper]

I presume Randy would get a better grade first aid kit to ply his saw-bones trade with?

"I'll need the amputation knife please..."

Also, welcome Kabukiman!

[Philulhu]

Climbing equipment: Not being a climber, I’m not sure how to answer that. If you were trying to get inexperienced climbers up and over an obstacle, what would you use? If that’s a belaying kit, then go with that. You can assume you have as many pitons as would be appropriate for that length of rope, plus a hammer to knock them in.

Weapons & Ammo: Assume you have none, so you can choose from the weapons table on p401 of the rulebook. Some sample weights: Glock 17 (loaded - 915g), 12-gauge pump action shotgun (loaded - 4kg), M16a2 (loaded - 4kg), HK MP5 (loaded - 2.5kg). I wouldn’t expect non-security staff to be touting automatic weapons but a hunting rifle for a wilderness expert seems reasonable, for example.

First Aid Kit: Your basic kit skill includes this. A military grade kit is available, which will include the contents listed on page 229 of this document (issued in 1989 but you can assume it was just catching up with whatever was already being used in the field).

[Lost_King]

If the investigators have an opportunity to train for this, they would likely have belaying supplies. It would be likely something that was taught to investigators before they went on the mission, as it would be about an hour long class. Assuming that a piton could be used as a makeshift pulley (threading the rope through the piton’s hole, but not tying it). The only unsafe climbing would be initially putting the piton at the top. If climbing individually, someone (either the first or last, depending on the situation) would have to belay themselves, which is less safe. In order to climb 150 feet while being belayed, someone would need to have at least 300 feet of rope. Not everyone would need a rope, but if everyone has a full set of climbing equipment, that’s likely the length of rope that they would have. Additionally, everyone would have a harness, pitons, a hammer, a chisel, two climbing grade carabiners, and a Sticht plate. The only heavy equipment is the rope, which would weight a whole twenty pounds. My guess is that the investigators would each bring a rope, but they would leave most of the ropes in a vehicle (or at a home base if they establish one). As part of their training, everyone would learn how to make barrel knots and figure eights (with a retrace), which are the only two knots needed for safe climbing.

[Snapper]

Fingers crossed we don't have to do any climbing!

[Mr. Handy]

Which rulebook is that?

[Philulhu]

Thanks for the explanation, Lost_King

Mr Handy - that’s from the 7th edition rulebook.

A couple of other things.

Content Warning: It’s Call of Cthulhu and I think we all know what we’re expecting but for clarity, this will involve violence, body horror, swearing and mental ill-health. If you have any concerns about any of those, please raise them in this thread or message me privately, if you prefer.

Pacing: With six players, the pace of this game will probably be slower than my other games where I probably post most days. I’m aiming for 2-3 posts per week with this one but we’ll see how the rhythm of the game develops. I’ll try to give everyone a chance to post (particularly if it’s a decision/action that directly affects your PC) but if necessary, I may NPC your character to keep the game ticking over. Again, if you have any concerns, please comment or PM me.

[Snapper]

I'm assuming our security PCs actually have permission to lug M16s and sidearms about, despite the Canadian firearms laws of the era. (Which, like Australia's, tend to be more restrained than - say - the US State of Texas.)

Getting John Carpenter's "The Thing" vibes...

[Philulhu]

That’s a good point.

I think I’ll present this as my counter argument - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExxonMobil#Controversies - and suggest that just because they’re operating in a foreign country, it doesn’t mean that Exxon executives believe (a) that American laws don’t apply, and (b) it’s their pumping station and they can do as they damn well please, anyway…

Edit: I don’t think fully automatic weapons were banned until after the events of our investigation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms_ ... rearm_laws.

[Snapper]

*LAUGH*

Gold!

[Philulhu]

I read Quora far too much. It’s full of stories of people (not just Americans) who believe they carry the laws of their own country with them when they travel…

[Snapper]

Oh dear... They all must be so surprised when they discover it doesn't work out that way.

On the upside, Randy's equipment is sorted I think. Up to 17kg, he is suitably fleshed out with strange 1980s personal effects.

The Leatherman multi-tool wasn't invented until '83 so the emergency tracheotemy will have to be performed with the Swiss Army Pocket knife (the corkscrew option would seem the ideal choice).

[Philulhu]

You don’t have to be exact but I’m assuming the other 3kg will be his first aid kit? Or were you serious about Randy attempting all life-saving with his Swiss Army knife?

[BoyBlunder78]

I'll get my equipment sorted tomorrow, been snowed under at work.

[Philulhu]

No problem, I’ll hopefully get the game underway at the weekend, if I’m not tired up moving two of my kids to Uni/a new house respectively. So far, neither have confirmed their plans…

[Lost_King]

Looking back on it, I don’t think you don’t need to double back the rope with a sticht plate, so rope would only be 160 feet (about 10 pounds), leaving just enough room to tie a knot at both ends (which eliminates any problems with wearing down the rope with a makeshift pulley). Investigators would also only need one carabiner each.

[Mr. Handy]

I've also been very busy, so it'll take me some time before I can pick my equipment, but I should be able to do it by the weekend.

[Snapper]

You don’t have to be exact but I’m assuming the other 3kg will be his first aid kit? Or were you serious about Randy attempting all life-saving with his Swiss Army knife?

Happy with the 3kg being first aid kit.

Having said that, Randy is convinced of the life saving merits of his Swiss Army Knife. The rest of the team should be very relieved.