So far things are moving ahead at a brisk clip. People have been put into paintings, Sleepers arrived (Well, he was on vacation, but even so), Holes in the fabric of reality leading Somewhere Else creating magickal briefcases and turning professors into monsters of some kind, a magical Key having been discovered, demonic possession, the murder of said professor by two students, a clockwork, and another professor. Oh, and an orgy on a mundane level, along with Marcus proving his love to Delilah by not having sex with Sara.
Characters So Far
PCs
Adella - Free spirited college student who has, of recently, been able to float in the air after sex.
Marcus - husband to Delilah, a mail-order husband with skills he never wants to use again and a Key whose provenance he doesn't understand
Talnish - mechanical engineering professor and Mechanomancer
NPCs
Delilah - Physics professor and wife to Marcus, locally considered a 'witch'.
Nate - Friend with benefits for Adella who seems to be a post-post modern automaton who was entirely unaware of that until recently.
Sara - Sex-loving room mate to Adella whose life seems to revolve entirely around sex. Also, apparently hunted by Sleepers.
Other Cast
Martin Caidin Sr. - Nate's grandfather. Known to Talnish as a reclusive mechanomancer outside town.
Father Karl Horne - The priest at St. Jude's, the local Catholic church.
Edith Kilmore - the old lady who runs the heritage house and has apparently met Marcus before, though the latter has no memory of it.
Suzy Quimby - the girl who accidentally painted Sara into a painting. hasn't gone insane quite yet.
Ramona Whitman - the former psych prof turned into some kind of 'thing' by the Other Place. Currently deceased.
Minor Cast
Leon Debran - owner of the Bleeding Crow, never seen yet.
The Bartender - surly 20 going on 40 something bartender at the Bleeding Crow.
Milk Delivery Man - a man who delivers milk, with live cow, to Delilah's house.
Paper boy - the pre-dawn paperboy who delivers papers.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Apotheosis Notes
So, we have a mail-order husband of a physics prof and a free-spirited college girl as the PCs (so far).
The town of Elysium, Kansas, is a small university city in the county of Rutherford. 3000 students, 1300 other residents and then assorted staff and such. It's bracketed by ghost towns, like munch of Kansas, and the locals claim the New Deal destroyed it, though there's almost no one left who can provide specifics to that beyond generic bitterness.
Essex University is the centre of the city, for all intents. What this means is the bars are little more lenient with students and the three police officers sometimes let things slide they shouldn't. Sergeant Jerry Letherwood runs the small police station along with constable's Oki Oki and Lance Christensen.
Aside from this, the city has two hotels - a Day's Inn and a Super 8. There's the usual bars, Denny's, Starbucks, McPlaces and so on. Stuff can be added and such as players want.
The town of Elysium, Kansas, is a small university city in the county of Rutherford. 3000 students, 1300 other residents and then assorted staff and such. It's bracketed by ghost towns, like munch of Kansas, and the locals claim the New Deal destroyed it, though there's almost no one left who can provide specifics to that beyond generic bitterness.
Essex University is the centre of the city, for all intents. What this means is the bars are little more lenient with students and the three police officers sometimes let things slide they shouldn't. Sergeant Jerry Letherwood runs the small police station along with constable's Oki Oki and Lance Christensen.
Aside from this, the city has two hotels - a Day's Inn and a Super 8. There's the usual bars, Denny's, Starbucks, McPlaces and so on. Stuff can be added and such as players want.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Unknown Armies campaign idea
Apotheosis
There are so few left, so terribly few. Every few years the old gods put on new faces, ripping them from the flesh of the living, standing over the bones of the dead. These are only metaphors: but the gods change. All things change, or perish. One pursues novelty or clings to habits. Both ends may be destructive. All things change, and move towards their end.
Every year new gods are born, despite all the old gods do and be and every effort of will and desire. Things happen, despite our most feverent prayers, our most profound hopes. The world gives birth to new gods in this age of change and wildness where all the terrible power of old traditions breaks down and in the centre of the world the world discovers that the centre does not hold.
You've heard whispers, or rumours of them. Read graffito visible only under a new moon. Saw the homeless bum who told people The End was coming get bundled off by men in white suits when he tried to tell people the truth, screamed: "You did it!" to everyone he met, weeping whiskey tears all the while.
Something is changing, has changed, is coming. There is something in the air, the hint of a storm, the knowledge that the calm is over. The world is changing. You feel it in your pineal gland, see it in strange news items, read about it in the gossip section of the paper. Somewhere, out there, men who are far more than men are gathering, and men who are terribly less gather as well. Their are armies moving through shadows, down paths known only to small children and cats, and though they are unknown, they are still armies, and there is still a war.
Because the rumours say that we made the gods, and that the universe will remake itself once we've made so many. That they will make a new one. A better one. Or they did yesterday, and there are those who want the old one back -- it doesn't matter, not really. All that matters, all that is known, is that there are over 330 gods walking the world, and that unless we are terrible or clever or very lucky, soon there will be more and there will no longer be a world.
So, this is what popped out of my head for an Unknown Armies campaign. The PCs can be In The Know (as much as anyone is), or only some, or be thrown off the deep end to tread water and drown beautifully. Entirely up to the players, as is the PC.
Standard UA PC (220 points). Each PC has a Dark Secret, something horrible they've done and never want anyone to learn. And a Trigger, which is something Weird you saw (or the first weird thing you saw) that told you the world was even stranger than advertised on cheap talk shows during ratings week.
The PCs should be connect somehow. This can be an ally, an organization, them being neighbours in the same apartment complex -- it's up to you all, but your PCs should know each other before the game, at some level.
Where it's going: This is unknown armies. Surreal urban fantasy, sprinkled with horror. It's about power and consequences, and what you'd do to change the world. It's about having the guts to see the world as it is, not as we desire it to be -- and maybe, just maybe, finding a way to make the desire come true, or learn why it can never be. It's about being as hard as you have to be, as kind as you can afford to be, and doing what has to be done.
Because the heart of the world has a secret, and everyone knows it even if no one can really believe it. And it means everything, and nothing. You find it scrawled in bathrooms, written on your bed sheets when you wake up, replacing texts in a newspaper. Truth so old no one believes it. Magic so old no one understands it.
You Did It.
.... Now what are you going to do about it?
There are so few left, so terribly few. Every few years the old gods put on new faces, ripping them from the flesh of the living, standing over the bones of the dead. These are only metaphors: but the gods change. All things change, or perish. One pursues novelty or clings to habits. Both ends may be destructive. All things change, and move towards their end.
Every year new gods are born, despite all the old gods do and be and every effort of will and desire. Things happen, despite our most feverent prayers, our most profound hopes. The world gives birth to new gods in this age of change and wildness where all the terrible power of old traditions breaks down and in the centre of the world the world discovers that the centre does not hold.
You've heard whispers, or rumours of them. Read graffito visible only under a new moon. Saw the homeless bum who told people The End was coming get bundled off by men in white suits when he tried to tell people the truth, screamed: "You did it!" to everyone he met, weeping whiskey tears all the while.
Something is changing, has changed, is coming. There is something in the air, the hint of a storm, the knowledge that the calm is over. The world is changing. You feel it in your pineal gland, see it in strange news items, read about it in the gossip section of the paper. Somewhere, out there, men who are far more than men are gathering, and men who are terribly less gather as well. Their are armies moving through shadows, down paths known only to small children and cats, and though they are unknown, they are still armies, and there is still a war.
Because the rumours say that we made the gods, and that the universe will remake itself once we've made so many. That they will make a new one. A better one. Or they did yesterday, and there are those who want the old one back -- it doesn't matter, not really. All that matters, all that is known, is that there are over 330 gods walking the world, and that unless we are terrible or clever or very lucky, soon there will be more and there will no longer be a world.
So, this is what popped out of my head for an Unknown Armies campaign. The PCs can be In The Know (as much as anyone is), or only some, or be thrown off the deep end to tread water and drown beautifully. Entirely up to the players, as is the PC.
Standard UA PC (220 points). Each PC has a Dark Secret, something horrible they've done and never want anyone to learn. And a Trigger, which is something Weird you saw (or the first weird thing you saw) that told you the world was even stranger than advertised on cheap talk shows during ratings week.
The PCs should be connect somehow. This can be an ally, an organization, them being neighbours in the same apartment complex -- it's up to you all, but your PCs should know each other before the game, at some level.
Where it's going: This is unknown armies. Surreal urban fantasy, sprinkled with horror. It's about power and consequences, and what you'd do to change the world. It's about having the guts to see the world as it is, not as we desire it to be -- and maybe, just maybe, finding a way to make the desire come true, or learn why it can never be. It's about being as hard as you have to be, as kind as you can afford to be, and doing what has to be done.
Because the heart of the world has a secret, and everyone knows it even if no one can really believe it. And it means everything, and nothing. You find it scrawled in bathrooms, written on your bed sheets when you wake up, replacing texts in a newspaper. Truth so old no one believes it. Magic so old no one understands it.
You Did It.
.... Now what are you going to do about it?
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Oppressors: the newscast
Posting this here, to avoid cluttering up site etc. It's the next morning now, in game, and I'm going to assume your PCs find out about/hear/watch this via someone or some way. Nice and simple.
----
The local news network is on the TV, the familiar backdrop behind the desk currently riddled with bullet holes. They've been left as a massage, either by the Haud or by the humans that remain. The news anchor is, currently, an ex-camera man. He's presentable, looks okay in a suit, and has a decent smile. Which is, really, all that's needed.
"This is the news of the hour, on the hour, being repeated every hour. The Haud have graciously allowed the local news network, Choam, to continue running as a Haud news network. Many local networks across the world have been connected together in this manner. Unlike previous news sources, we will not pretend to be fair, nor unbiased. The Haud have -- dealt with those who would refuse; the rest of us wish to live and keep our jobs.
"Here is what the Haud wish to have reported today, the 11th day after their invasion and the destruction of Pluto.." The smiling man taps some papers on the table, then begins:
"Following regrettable losses of lives and breakdown of basic needs due to the suppression of various governments and resistance, the Haud wish it to be known that regular services of food and supplies will begin today into cities. All grocery stores and drug stores are now under Haud control and will be supplied with regular food. Farms and the like producing food are exempt from all taxation and are to contact any local Haud representatives if they require additional aid or manpower. Quotas are no longer to be enforced, and people will get the basics they need, as they need them. Taxes will be thirty percent across the board, payable and usable at the local level to fix the cities and towns damaged in the war for the foreseeable future.
"In practise, the food system should amount to one bag of food per person each day. Attempts to play the system will be met with removal from the system by, ah, death. Attempts to halt the system will result in no food being delivered to the town or city for at least two days. Destroying any outlet - i.e. grocery store and the like - will result in Examples being made."
The smiling face takes a deep breath. "The Haud wish is to be known that they have made, and will continue to make, examples of those who defy. For those who are, ah, slow: if you defy the Haud, the area around you will be slaughtered. There will be no mercy given, no second chances. Attempts to use this to kill your own enemies will lead to your immediate death, along with all family, possibly friends and even co-workers. I -- well, I guess we all know where the Haud stand.
"Ah. Food is being given out until the normal distribution centres resume proper operation via former secret government warehouses the Haud are opening. Err. Apparently the best before dates system was largely a fraud for certain products, which our government would take when they 'expired' and store them. To what end, we may never know. Expect to get a lot of non-perishable items, I imagine?
"Technology is being quarantined by the Haud after various 'incidents' and the Haud will ration out anything on an as-needed basis. A bureaucracy for this purpose is being developed; those who lost jobs due to the Haud invasion may be given preference towards positions in the news system as compensation. Gas and oil reserves are now closed, and electricity generated by power plants will be the only source of power in cities. If it is not enough, cities must find ways to cut down on power usage or appeal to the Haud. Giving up various resources, such as computers and such the Haud can make use of, will result in net benefits for communities.
"The internet will remain down for the foreseeable future, as will normal TV and radio stations as well as the press. Pirate stations and the like will be permitted to a limited degree. All natural resources in the world are going to be used by the Haud for their needs and distributed for ours on an as-needed basis. Attempts to resist this are, plainly, not encouraged. If humanity proves useful, select members of our species will be allowed to join the Haud as soldiers.
"We are to consider this a great honour. That is all.
"This is Leon Chomsky for Choam News, signing off. We will continue to repeat this broadcast until the Haud give further updates."
----
The local news network is on the TV, the familiar backdrop behind the desk currently riddled with bullet holes. They've been left as a massage, either by the Haud or by the humans that remain. The news anchor is, currently, an ex-camera man. He's presentable, looks okay in a suit, and has a decent smile. Which is, really, all that's needed.
"This is the news of the hour, on the hour, being repeated every hour. The Haud have graciously allowed the local news network, Choam, to continue running as a Haud news network. Many local networks across the world have been connected together in this manner. Unlike previous news sources, we will not pretend to be fair, nor unbiased. The Haud have -- dealt with those who would refuse; the rest of us wish to live and keep our jobs.
"Here is what the Haud wish to have reported today, the 11th day after their invasion and the destruction of Pluto.." The smiling man taps some papers on the table, then begins:
"Following regrettable losses of lives and breakdown of basic needs due to the suppression of various governments and resistance, the Haud wish it to be known that regular services of food and supplies will begin today into cities. All grocery stores and drug stores are now under Haud control and will be supplied with regular food. Farms and the like producing food are exempt from all taxation and are to contact any local Haud representatives if they require additional aid or manpower. Quotas are no longer to be enforced, and people will get the basics they need, as they need them. Taxes will be thirty percent across the board, payable and usable at the local level to fix the cities and towns damaged in the war for the foreseeable future.
"In practise, the food system should amount to one bag of food per person each day. Attempts to play the system will be met with removal from the system by, ah, death. Attempts to halt the system will result in no food being delivered to the town or city for at least two days. Destroying any outlet - i.e. grocery store and the like - will result in Examples being made."
The smiling face takes a deep breath. "The Haud wish is to be known that they have made, and will continue to make, examples of those who defy. For those who are, ah, slow: if you defy the Haud, the area around you will be slaughtered. There will be no mercy given, no second chances. Attempts to use this to kill your own enemies will lead to your immediate death, along with all family, possibly friends and even co-workers. I -- well, I guess we all know where the Haud stand.
"Ah. Food is being given out until the normal distribution centres resume proper operation via former secret government warehouses the Haud are opening. Err. Apparently the best before dates system was largely a fraud for certain products, which our government would take when they 'expired' and store them. To what end, we may never know. Expect to get a lot of non-perishable items, I imagine?
"Technology is being quarantined by the Haud after various 'incidents' and the Haud will ration out anything on an as-needed basis. A bureaucracy for this purpose is being developed; those who lost jobs due to the Haud invasion may be given preference towards positions in the news system as compensation. Gas and oil reserves are now closed, and electricity generated by power plants will be the only source of power in cities. If it is not enough, cities must find ways to cut down on power usage or appeal to the Haud. Giving up various resources, such as computers and such the Haud can make use of, will result in net benefits for communities.
"The internet will remain down for the foreseeable future, as will normal TV and radio stations as well as the press. Pirate stations and the like will be permitted to a limited degree. All natural resources in the world are going to be used by the Haud for their needs and distributed for ours on an as-needed basis. Attempts to resist this are, plainly, not encouraged. If humanity proves useful, select members of our species will be allowed to join the Haud as soldiers.
"We are to consider this a great honour. That is all.
"This is Leon Chomsky for Choam News, signing off. We will continue to repeat this broadcast until the Haud give further updates."
Thursday, April 10, 2008
I'm not quite dead... In fact, I think I'm getting better.
Yeah! So, hi again. It's me. I know I sort of disappeared again for no apparent reason... I wish I could say it was because my life is so busy, but it's really not. I mean, a lot of stuff has happened, like job changes and remodeling a section of my house as a place to gather with my friends and doing that whenever possible... but there really have been plenty of opportunities for me to come at least hang out in #game1 and I simply didn't. I'm sorry about that. But hey! I think I might be back now. So... yeah. What's up, guys? :)
Friday, April 04, 2008
Oppressors: Where it stands
Currently we're 3 sessions in (technically 5). The PCs have one base - the warehouses - while making plans for other eventualities, the Haud had murdered a few hundred people, some allies have come forth, some enemies bit the dust, one superhero driven insane and an actual use found for Ma'Ti.
Some of the weaknesses and the strengths of the Haud have been figured out but, since the PCs have yet to truly act against them,the aliens seem to pretty much be ignoring them. The police, otoh, are not - but they're merely human. And, unrelated to the PCs, the fanatical religious element of the city is linking the Haud to serpents and Satan and preparing actions of their own ...
Fun things so far:
- The potential in making a superhero's daughter into a supervillain is just fun.
- A use being found for Ma'Ti. He wasn't meant to have a real use. He was a walk-on joke.
- The disparate ways in which the PCs gather allies and build their own power bases.
Surprises:
- So far, no one has really done anything out and out Evil.
Some of the weaknesses and the strengths of the Haud have been figured out but, since the PCs have yet to truly act against them,the aliens seem to pretty much be ignoring them. The police, otoh, are not - but they're merely human. And, unrelated to the PCs, the fanatical religious element of the city is linking the Haud to serpents and Satan and preparing actions of their own ...
Fun things so far:
- The potential in making a superhero's daughter into a supervillain is just fun.
- A use being found for Ma'Ti. He wasn't meant to have a real use. He was a walk-on joke.
- The disparate ways in which the PCs gather allies and build their own power bases.
Surprises:
- So far, no one has really done anything out and out Evil.
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