Trail of Cthulhu – RMS Titanic: The Millionaire’s Special

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***CAUTION:  Contains numerous, explicit sexual references.  Touches on issues of racism and segregation.  Player characters act like player characters.  You have been warned.***

Everyone knows the story of the Titanic.  Not everyone knows the dark secrets that rest with her on the ocean floor.

RMS Titanic: The Millionaire’s Special was used as a one-shot scenario to introduce players to the GUMSHOE system.  During the Titanic’s final hours, the players investigated the ambitious schemes of a wealthy media mogul and raced to stop the consequences of his actions.  But the ancient evil he awakened would not be destroyed so easily.

It took a doomed ship to bring her down.

Using their characters’ abilities to their advantage, the players traded sexual favors for weaponry, pursued their artistic talents to uncover the truth, read through ancient tomes in the Titanic’s 1st-Class library, and transformed a ham and cheese sandwich into an information dump.

The only thing missing?   Historical accuracy.

The Titanic’s final hours was truly a night to remember.

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Dark Sun – Mystery of the Ancients

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A group of four adventurers awoke in the city of Tyr in the Year of Desert’s Fury in the 190th King’s Age, also known as Free Year 11 in the free city. They had been in Tyr for some months and their funds were running low. The four had fallen in together and found that they were not bad companions, and so had found shelter together in the city of Tyr.

Orin was a half-giant warrior who stood over 11 feet tall and weighed more than 1500 pounds. His weapons included a giant-sized datchi club, AR-15 Rifles, an arena weapon with a five-foot-long head made of dried insect hive and embedded with teeth and claws attached to a three-foot-long bone handle; a lotulis, crescent blades with barbed spikes near the points mounted at either end of a long shaft; and a sling. He wore little more than hide armor and carried a great shield, the latter constructed of layers of hardened leather stretched over a bone frame.

Ran Ger was a human ranger who carried a longbow; a master’s whip made of leather with a carved bone handle inlaid with decorative elements; three cahulaks, each consisting of a pair of four-bladed bone heads tied to either end of a 12-foot length of rope; and five alhulaks, each consisting of a five-foot length of rope with a four-bladed grappling hook at one end, the other end being secured to a two-foot-long handle. He wore leather armor.

Varthir Markorum was an elf with disheveled hair. A preserver by trade, he wore no armor and carried only a staff to defend himself with. However, he also was well-versed in the use of magic. His heart was as black as night.

Aeoleus was a half-elf druid who wore studded leather armor and carried a small shield for protection. He used a composite short bow and carried a spear, but his most prized possession was a ceramic flute. He rarely spoke.

On Feb. 3, 2012, I ran a game of Dark Sun using the introductory scenario for Jeff, Ken, Steve, and Erik.

The journal entry for the game can be found http://www.penandpapergames.com/forums/entry.php/1692-Dark-Sun-Revised-and-Expanded-Mystery-of-the-Ancients-2012-02-04

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Fiasco 2 Shot! 1/2

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My group and I played a couple Fiasco games one night in our first jaunt into the game.  I’ll just post them back to back.

 

In the first game of the night we take on Antarctica’s McMurdo Station with terrorism, castaways and jealousy.  It’s a bit shaky, but as with all Fiasco games, it quickly deteriorates.  We’re still not perfect on the rules, but we are having a great old time.  So please, listen to Episode 1: Jenny from the Block of Ice.

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Behind Enemy Lines – The Jaws of the Trap

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By August 1944, the Allies had broken out of Normandy, pushed the Germans back, and retaken Paris. However, the invasion had run out of steam and both sides were consolidated in central France. The Nazis were on the run but the German war machine was still strong. On August 27, 1944, five soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division had gathered at the tent used by Major Joseph Taylor as his HQ in a tiny, broken village in France. The five had volunteered for what had only been described to each of them as a “dangerous mission” behind enemy lines.

The 19-year-old Corporal Thomas Sawyer had a nickname of “Lefty” because he had been an amateur boxer in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. He usually preferred the M1 Garand rifle. He had only been with the 1st Infantry since Normandy and was also trained in demolitions. Private First Class Norris Polk was from the hills of Tennessee. He was an excellent pistol shot and carried a .45 automatic as well as an M1 carbine. His first action with the 1st Infantry had been at Normandy. Private First Class Richard “Dick” Carter was from Philadelphia. He was usually armed with a .45 automatic pistol and a Thompson M1 sub-machinegun. He had served with the 1st Infantry since Sicily, having come up Italy with the Big Red One and been part of storming the beaches at Normandy as well. He was rated as a medic. Buck Private Syd Lafayette was a small, wiry New York City kid. A sniper, he preferred a Springfield M1903 rifle with a scope. He had served with the 1st Infantry since Italy and had been one of those who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Finally among their number was Buck Private Bobby Smith, a solid young man with dark hair from Akron, Ohio. Rated as a medic, he also carried a Thompson M1 sub-machinegun and was a very solid youth. He had been the manager of a chain grocery store back home and had been with the 1st Infantry since Normandy.

They were to go behind enemy lines on a commando mission to blow up a bridge at exactly the right moment to keep an SS Panzer Unit from flanking the Allied forces.

On Nov. 28, 2011, I ran one of the introductory scenarios in the original Behind Enemy Lines boxed set for Stephen, Jeff, Eric, and Ken.

The journal entry for the game can be found here: http://www.penandpapergames.com/forums/entry.php/1675-Behind-Enemy-Lines-11-28-2011

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Top Secret – Operation Sprechenhaltestelle, Code Name: Pisces Part 2

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The Agency was a secret, international espionage agency that hired spies from all over the free world to take on assignments that crossed international borders. Four agents had been assembled by the agency in May of 1980.

Eric Taft was a British spy who had worked with MI-5. He was known to carry a switchblade and a .45 semi-automatic pistol with a barrel extender. Earl Geofferies was an American and rumored to have been a top agent with the CIA. He was proficient in all forms of hand to hand combat and was known to carry a Walther PPK with a silencer. Fletcher David Reed, also American, had worked in various agencies. He was armed with a 9mm short Walther PPK but he preferred to kill with his bare hands. Wayne Jeffries was a member of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS). He carried a .45 semi-automatic pistol and never went anywhere without his umbrella.

They were sent into the village of Sprechenhaltestelle near Hamburg to stop the capture and slavery of east to west defectors going on there and rescue a pair of energy technicians who were in the neighborhood and get to them to the west.

On Sept. 16, 2011, I ran a game of Top Secret for my friends Stephen, Jeff, Erik, and Jeff. I use the introductory scenario from the boxed set. This is the conclusion of that game.

The journal entry for the game can be found here: http://www.penandpapergames.com/forums/entry.php/1657-Top-Secret-game-9-17-11

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