EPISODE #5 - Thoughts of Darkness

[MadStepDad]

Back at the hospital room, VAN RICHTEN is going over ORDER of the GUARDIANS lore once more for the players sake (just to make sure everybody is on the same page, and understands the concept of these famed RAVENLOFT cabals).

Once again - the WATCHERS at the GATE were an OoG branch (destroyed when the artifact they were holding was destroyed as well). See EPISODE #3 - THE HEART's FINAL BEAT.

The TEMPLE of HIP HOP is an OoG branch guarding some still-unknown artifact.

Finally, the "Brotherhood of Contemplative Power" is another canon OoG sect mentioned in the THOUGHTS of DARKNESS module. It was the Brotherhood of Contemplative Power who reached out to LORD DRASSAK (member of the Temple of Hip Hop) to recover their artifact, stolen by a traitor within the Brotherhood and smuggled to NYC. Who? Why? When? Still unknowns.

All they know is that LORD DRASSAK told his people in the Temple of Hip Hop to prepare for a war of epic, unearthly proportions. So the Temple of Hip Hop had to reach beyond it's tightly-knit inner family to pull Intel from other sources - namely the Fraternity of Fractured Thought, who VAN RICHTEN also provides Monster Hunting advice and tutorials. So THAT'S why the Temple of Hip Hop reached out to the Fraternity of Fractured Thought to ask for their help. They want some advice from VAN RICHTEN on the nature of the threat they face. Unfortunately, only LORD DRASSAK and ANNITELLA know that information - and one's missing while the other is in a coma. So there's still a lot of unanswered questions. VAN RICHTEN goes over this with AGENT RAMOS and LENIENCE while BIG AL stands ominously in the corner.

As night is turning into early morning, AGENT RAMOS is going to the station to file that official paperwork once and for all before calling it a night. VAN RICHTEN and LENIENCE stay behind to watch over their prime source of information along with BIG AL. But before AGENT RAMOS can leave, the PALE SWORDSMAN returns with another Brooklyn hardrock. Like the others, he is an intimidating sight. The PALE SWORDSMAN can barely introduce the man as "THE DARK KNIGHT" when he has beelined over to LENIENCE - the tall, gangly white boy in the corner - and attempts to snatch the necklace from around his neck!

A brief altercation arises as LENIENCE resists the attempt, and AGENT RAMOS steps in the middle with his badge. VAN RICHTEN and PALE SWORDSMAN play the peace sign, while BIG AL just keeps watching on. "Forgive his brashness..." PALE SWORDSMAN says of the DARK KNIGHT. "But I told you I recognized those linx..." he says, nodding toward LENIENCE's chain. DARK KNIGHT says "let me see it" and LENIENCE wisely complies. He untucks the necklace he acquired way back before EPISODE #1. The necklace with the symbol of Hyksosa's 13 rhymes.

THE DARK KNIGHT's aggressive stance softens as his eyes fall upon it. "You ain't kidding, God" he says in stunned agreeance with PALE SWORDSMAN. Immediately he stiffens and intensely questions LENIENCE. "Where did you get it?" he demands. LENIENCE explains he got from a street side vendor in Boston and the PALE SWORDSMAN and DARK KNIGHT nod in synchronization. Turns out, the Temple of Hip Hop (apparently the DARK KNIGHT in particular) are well versed on this necklace... or "these amulets" as the DARK KNIGHT says.

BEHIND THE GM SCREEN

This is the part of the story that diverts slightly from written texts, namely the THOUGHTS of DARKNESS script I'm following for this Episode. I'm still trying to add my OWN imprint to the RAVENLOFT/MASQUE of the RED DEATH/Urban Arcana thing I got going on here. That whole "Chasing ELYSIAN FIELDS thing". The Pure's, the Blood Martyrs and such. This part of the segment details just a touch of that.

In particular, the three amulets the GOD BRAIN gifted his HIGH MASTER with in order to seek out a FOCUS CHILD. They are tracking and homing devices that allow the GOD BRAIN (and his MASTER) to monitor their movements and activities from afar. So here I'm going to try to impart some of this information to the players.

So the DARK KNIGHT tells them that LENIENCE holds one of (they think) 3 total amulets. They originated in NYC as far as they know (wrong), and are some kind of mobile tracking devices (correct). Turns out, about 6 months ago (right before EPISODE #1 even began) one of their boys from the Temple of Hip Hop, LORD DRASSAK again, had gone through an entire adventure with those things. Supreme Team gangsters, crack house shoot-outs and everything.

He even managed to steal one of those amulets and have it smuggled east toward Boston where some of their University connects presumably would have been able to identify it. However, it was lost or stolen in transit and never made it to Boston. Or so they thought. But here we come full circle. ANNITELLA is rescued by the man who unwittingly wears the same Amulet she thought her and LORD DRASSAK had saved. Coincidence again? This gives AGENT RAMOS, LENIENCE and BIG AL something to chew on, as we...

CUT!

[MadStepDad]

Shining in the candy-apple red 1994 Nissan 300ZX, "Come Clean" by JERU the DAMAJA bumping through the system. In the car, an anonymous driver plays chauffeur to the backpack-and-hoodied-up RAZOR RYZING. Himself of Asian descent, much like his passenger TENROU LEE. Along with them ride ALEXUS DARKAGNON and MARGUERITA DEVILLE. The neon lights of Times Square glow with life and energy. New York fn City, dawg!!!

As GM, I basically used this scene to break down the same information to a new cast of characters. RAZOR RYZING told TENROU LEE that his father... (wait for it)... BROTHER RUDEN is dead. Finally the connection I was subtly drawing is out in the open. TENROU's father was one of the bodies the other PCs found during EPISODE #3. His father knew their appt with the Whistling Fiend was coming, so he sent his only son TENROU LEE away from there. Down to New Orleans where EPISODE #4 - The Evil Eye is currently unfolding on PbP at the WWuDC clubhouse. There are few survivors left from the WATCHERS at the GATE, and they have become Lost Ones.

But, there was a Special Agent involved in the investigation that may have more information. His name is AGENT RAMOS and he operates here out of NYC. This is ONE of the reasons RAZOR RYZING and the Temple asked for TENROU LEE to return to NYC (along with ALEXUS who now owes the Temple a favor). The OTHER reason, of course, is the mysterious disappearance of Temple member LORD DRASSAK (and his sidekick ANNITELLA). So I then take time to once explain to a new set of characters, the connection between the Temple - Lord Drassak (with Annitella) - and the Brotherhood of Contemplative Power. Only THIS time, as I got to the part about the Brotherhood traitor who stole the artifact, I told them who the traitor actually was... DOMINGO DOS SANTOS*.

* Looooong time readers may recall this name from our previous RAVENLOFT Black Box adventures. Even if you don't, the players (in this case new school TENROU LEE and ALEXUS DARKAGNON 2009) immediately did. And they oohd and ahhd appropriately like you would at a fireworks display. In short, he was a staunch, devoted and dedicated ally to the heroes. Never once did he waver from the side of good. So SOMETHING happened or SOMEBODY got to him... ill enough to make him forsake everything he ever stood for.

So yeah. Bright lights, big city. As the PCs digest this information they roll to stop at a light on a deserted East NY street corner... just then... pause... Spot checks... Listen checks... and... POP!

Gunshot goes off, the driver's brain matter splatters. Suddenly, a swarm of hoodied-up goons are upon them, glowering outside the Nissans tinted windows. The PCs didn't even see it coming but they fell for the oldest trick on the book. Now they got run up on, guns in their face, dead driver slouched over the middle console, and a bunch of crazy red-eyed mutha*****s yelling "Run yo s***!!!! Run yo s***!!!"

Basically, I rearranged the Popsicle sticks on my little handrawn battle map and set up the other cast of PCs for own their own combat scenario. Suffice to say, combat ensues.

Lots of stuff happening, including MARGUERITA kick in the teeth out of one of the goons who broke in the back window, RAZOR RYZING catching a slug in the leg, TENROU LEE grappling with a goon in the gutter and ALEXUS jerking the bullet riddled Nissan up and over two of them before crashing into a utility pole. In the end, as one cowered at the combined feet of MARGUERITA, ALEXUS and TENROU he submitted and offered the PCs anything they wanted. In a way, this is the MSD Mash-Up version of the SLINKER encounter, as written in the module for PCs who did NOT rescue Annitella. Of course it's perverted heavily.

For one thing, all of the attacking goons were clearly intoxicated. Their eyes were bloodshot, their cheeks sunken in and all of them had a purplish-tinge to their lips. They looked like next-level crack heads. The one they captured was called SLINKER (again, check the module). SLINKER gave them the name "BONESPUR"... as in "Bonespur is the guy who put us up to this" [setting up, robbing and shooting the car the PCs are in]. "He's the guy we get the moon rocks (???) from. He said look for the bright red Nissan 300ZX, inside is the guys who beat up our friend ANNITELLA". Pause. This guy knows ANNITELLA? The once proud Temple of Hip Hop associate who is now a worthless crack head in a coma at the hospital? This BONESPUR character told SLINKER and his crack-head friends to attack the Nissan carrying the PCs because THEY are the ones who nearly beat Annitella to death? SLINKER didn't know where Bonespur was, but gave them the address of a project building he goes to buy these special "moon rocks".

Cops coming, the PCs got back in the tattered vehicle, peeled off the utility pole, and sped away - bumper dragging. A few blocks from the hospital they ditched the car and gingerly walked in RAZOR RYZING, suffering from a bullet wound to his left thigh that is more annoying than anything else. Fortunately, RAZOR RYZING has his health insurance in check as well as a legal firearm permit. So when he tells the doc it was a self-inflicted accidental wound, they don't question it much. Meanwhile, after RAZOR RYZING is checked in, he tells the players (TENROU, ALEXUS and MARGUERITA) to go see Annitella and find out more information about LORD DRASSAK's whereabouts.

So the three PCs get the room # for Annitella, and broadly enter the room to find... the other three PCs there as well. The pieces were all starting to fall together. Coincidence?

[MadStepDad]

AGENT RAMOS was in upstate NY when TENROU's father died. AGENT RAMOS was with LENIENCE, who knows ALEXUS who knows MARGUERITA and VAN RICHTEN knows them all. So suffice to say, I gave the entire floor to the players. More roleplaying goodness arises. Just to throw a bone, the PCs have the TV news on in the hospital room and get an update on the "prison riot" story out of Southern California. It's now been elevated to "prisoner escape" and they release a picture of the convict... MARGUERITA DEVILLE.

So now MARGUERITA had much to discuss after the more experienced players dominated the earlier exchange. Particularly to the long-arm of the law itself, AGENT RAMOS. This also gave a great opportunity for MARGUERITA to recap the events of her own solo adventure, for those who didn't read about it yet (EPISODE #6 - CIRCLE of DARKNESS part 1). Everything was awesome, especially ALEXUS the 5th lvl Charismatic Hero's little "this case calls for you to put your badge away" monologue to AGENT RAMOS. All uniformly agreed that the key to the mystery that drew them all here resides within ANNITELLA.

The PCs put their stories together, and the most they had to go on was the name "Bonespur" and an address SLINKER gave them where they can score some "moon rocks". I throw them another bone. AGENT RAMOS gets a call in from the station. Some perp gets locked on an unrelated charge, but offers to flip on AGENT RAMOS' park shooters for a lighter deal. They're finally going to find out who the dread locked man with the cane was at the park beating down Annitella (even though they already have a pretty good idea - this "Bonespur" character).

Sure enough, after bringing in VAN RICHTEN and ALEXUS (who smooth-talked his way in) as witnesses he questions the kid and gets all the facts.

* The well-dressed man with the dreadlocks, sunglasses and walking cane is indeed BONESPUR. He's about 6'4" with a black fu manchu mustache. He got a scar over his left eye. He came from New Mexico, the snitch last heard.

* BONESPUR works street-level to distribute "moon rocks" - next level crack. VAN RICHTEN procures the bag of purplish-tinged crack rocks they confiscated from the goons they shot it out with at the park earlier, and the snitch confirms that yes, those are moon rocks. AGENT RAMOS immediately sent the bag they confiscated earlier down to the lab for analysis.

* No amount of knowledge checks from any of the players could recognize the BONESPUR name, so AGENT RAMOS wanted more names. Snitch said Bonespur works with NUBBS and TUT out of East NY. Finally, names AGENT RAMOS could latch on to.

* Following typical investigator protocol, once a witness has been questioned you use your available Intel to sort out any connections. The snitch mentioned "NUBBS and TUT out of East NY" so AGENT RAMOS spoke with a homicide detective from East NY named DETECTIVE DERRICK PARKER.

http://www.amazon.com/Notorious-C-O-P-I ... 0312352514

Detective Parker gave him the whole sordid run down on Nubbs, Tut and thier East NY crack-churning army called the Supreme Team. The first guys to bring automatic military weaponry into their street conflicts. AGENT RAMOS recalled the name "Supreme Team" from his earlier discussions with the DARK KNIGHT about the amulet Lord Drassak stole (and Lenience now wears). This Bonespur guy though, is not on the books. But with AGENT RAMOS seeing him, the police composite artist was able to get a good sketch.

* Finally, they got an address. Same one ALEXUS and the others shook out of SLINKER. A project building where most of the moon rocks are said to originate from. It didn't take AGENT RAMOS long to pull together a reconnaissance team consisting of himself, ALEXUS, TENROU and BIG AL to run surveillance on the address they got from their snitches. They touched base with the others in the hospital room, and left Van Richten, Lenience and Marguerita to watch over Annitella.

Meanwhile, something beneath the city is bubbling in anticipation...

[Lord_Pruitt]

Killer!!!!

Fantastic thus far! And very original, too boot. I can't wait for the next session!

[MadStepDad]

Madd love, LP! Thanks for reading! Have you seen or checked out this module before?

Sky view panorama. Undisclosed housing projects, East NYC. Straight hood. Boxes and boxes of sagging buildings forcibly stuck together at the corners, offering a jagged prison of claustrophobia. The street bisecting the two identical sets of 6 story buildings is oddly quiet, despite the plethora of used beaters and junker cars parked along it.

It is down that road, the PCs cruise. In AGENT RAMOS’s unmarked car sit ALEXUS DARKAGNON, TENROU LEE and the mysterious BIG AL. They are looking for the address given to them earlier by SLINKER and the Parkside shooter snitch. The address where alleged “moon rock” activity is said to transpire. They need to know who was behind the attack on Annitella… and the attack on their own convoy that resulted in RAZOR RYZING taking a stray to the thigh. Who is this Bonespur and where did he come from? NYPD records don’t cover him, but he has said to be affiliated with some really big underworld heavy hitters.

Just a few dead trees dot the grassy courtyards of the projects, with inky deep shadows far beyond the reach of streetlights. The actual street address brings them to a small basement level brownstone submerged in cigarette butts and candy wrappers. As they roll to a stop and cut the headlights… a shadowy figure can be spotted perched on the tiny landing heading down to the apartment door. It’s 4:00 am. The area is desolate.

But as the PCs observe the figure seated on the landing, something is dreadfully amiss. He doesn’t acknowledge their arrival, or even glance over as the headlights pull up. The players shift uneasily and eye each other for reactions. Finally, after a minute or two of idling, AGENT RAMOS turns off the engine and exits the vehicle. The others closely follow.

Upon closer inspection, the figure isn’t moving. They have an empty 40oz bottle of St. Ides in a brown paper bag on their lap. AGENT RAMOS calls out to him, and demands he identify himself. No response. The PCs get closer. Drunk? Passed out? Worse? ALEXUS leans in to poke him, and the figure’s head shifts lifelessly to its chest. There, in the direct center of his forehead – a near bloodless pin-sized hole. The pin hole murders AGENT RAMOS has been chasing since his characters inception!

Immediately their guns are drawn, nerves at an all-time high. They peer down into the inky abyss of the stairwell leading to the apartment door. BIG AL spots a syringe on the ground. AGENT RAMOS takes out the flashlight, badge, and knocks on the door announcing “police!” The others wait breathlessly behind him; hand on their firearm handle (with the exception of TENROU LEE whose fists are already weapons). No answer. The players look at each other again, before BIG AL wordlessly steps forward and KICKS the door in. AGENT RAMOS is in aiming his flashlight and pistol, the others close behind.

Tension mounts. It’s a ragged, small cluttered apartment with trash everywhere. Dark, the electricity is off. It’s a living room area, with a couch swallowed by old clothes and a small table nearly overrun with drug paraphernalia (like pipes, mirrors and cigarette rollers). In the dead silence, a disturbance in the far room draws their attention. All the while as I’m describing the slow creeping dread that’s overcoming them, I’m rearranging the Popsicle sticks on my hand drawn grid. Players know this means an attack is eminent…

As they slowly make their way to the back room (a bedroom in this two room abode), they are greeted by a confusing sight. Like people writhing around in sleeping bags? AGENT RAMOS shines the flashlight into the room… and catches the face of a mutated alien-like creature feasting on the skull of its human victim!!!

When the light flashes upon it, it lets out a hideous screech and its red eyes dilate. Like a scene out of the worst ALIENS or PREDATOR movie ever made. Immediately FEAR checks are rolled as FOUR of these creatures are prowling around in the bedroom area like giant, man-like slugs! Veins criss-cross their oily skin and pulsate with unwholesome ichor. In real life, this is the scene of the VAMPIRIC ILLITHID AMBUSH (as written in the module)!!!

combat ensues

Bottom-line, the PCs are severely overmatched. The creatures are fast, unnatural and totally insane. Even the hollow-tip bullets from BIG AL’s special-ops exclusive handgun do little except tear off huge chunks of icky flesh and piss off the creatures even more. These things are KILLER! They appear to have busted through the toilet in the apartment, but the PCs can’t be sure because they didn’t have time to run a full investigation! They’re getting their butts whooped! Ultimately, they were forced to flee after being thoroughly manhandled by these carnivorous, vicious creatures. Alexus and Tenrou fled through the back bedroom window into the project courtyard, where it felt like every project window was an eyeball watching them. As AGENT RAMOS and BIG AL fled through the front out to their vehicle, lights were starting to come on in apartments around them in, in response to the sudden fire fight. They peeled the car around to pick up a limping Alexus and wounded Tenrou and fled the scene without calling for back-up. They desperately needed to regroup, and had to tell the others of their gross discovery. Things just got worse.

Way worse.

Then, ANNITELLA woke up…

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

severely awesome! Haven't read the module in a while, but that scene was exactly the right way to handle the vamp-illithids, IMHO. Scary-ass psycho aliens in a claustrophobic hellhole. Perfect!