Kingbeast's Lair

[  Author’s Note: This is the episode synopsis for the 19th session of the Dark Waters Rising campaign. This is my take as to what happened during the session. Please let me know if there are any comments or corrections.  ]

Flashback – Hunters Without Homes
Hunter is loading up Val’s car with Aunt Eva’s luggage when a beat up VW Golf pulls up. As soon as the car comes to a stop Val gives Aunt Eva a peck on the cheek then yells to Hunter that she is going off to study with her friend Christian. The driver of the car is a young man with an earring and a tattoo of a zombie screaming on his neck. Hunter accosts the young man but lets the pair leave to study for their Symbology final in Dr. Stone’s class.

After a call from a hunter friend from Texas, Blake Reeves, Aunt Eva and Hunter discuss her safety. Eva is afraid to go back to her trailer alone with everything that has happened in New Orleans. Hunter agrees that she can stay in the area. He sets up a spot at a local trailer park then asks his friend Blake to get the trailer and bring it to New Orleans.

While buying a new truck Hunter gets a call from his old prison cellmate Lucas. Lucas explains that in a month he is getting out of prison and would appreciate it if Hunter could put him up for a month or so. Hunter explains that he has a friend who should have space for him in her trailer. Hunter also explains that she could use some protection. Lucas readily agrees to the arrangement.

Flashback – Six Anniversary
The Gator Bite is a vibrant and active place on the anniversary of Six’s lost toes and subsequent founding of the bar…the $2 beer and $4 crawdad plates don’t hurt attracting a crowd either. Six gives a brief speech to the crowd then with a cheer dumps his mug of water on the ground as a tribute to the bayou. Later in the evening Lapinto and O’Hare approach MD. Lapinto carefully asks MD is they are “good”. MD says that they are good then the three celebrate into the night.

HOGD House Call
The hunters prepare the meeting site for a visit from the Order. Ron sets himself up on a roof across the street. Hunter hides in the trunk of Frank Kitrare’s car which has been pulled into the warehouse. MD waits in the shadows. Stone waits with Frank inside. Two hours after they have finished setting up a large black SUV with tinted windows pulls up. The driver, a blond gentlemen with short cropped hair and a visible shoulder holster gets out. He walks to the back of the SUV while surveying the scene. Out of the back of the SUV he pulls out a wheelchair. The blond man then goes to the passenger side and carefully helps an elderly woman into the chair. The two of them then cautiously approach the building. They knock then slowly enter. This is not the response the hunters were expecting.

The blond man introduces himself as “Nigel”. He whispers something in the ear of the elderly woman who has dozed off. At this point her eyes go white and she stands up! The PC learn that Medwin Baxter, one of the Hermetic Order leaders, is somehow possessing the old woman! Medwin explains that this “conveyance” allows him to hold a more “personal” conversation. He first conveys that he is the acting Magus of the Hermetic Order and that he is acting with their full support. Next he explains that Dr. Sutherland acted in a manner that does not reflect the current leadership. Medwin asks that the Order be allowed to handle the situation. Stone carefully explains that this will not be possible. Baxter asks if Dr. Sutherland is dead and Stone says no. Medwin then asks if the New Orleans hunters need any help. He explains that his people have detected that the “Outer Dark” is dangerously thin in New Orleans. (Stone takes this to mean what he and Eva have referred to as the Veil.) Medwin asks that the Dr. Stone proceed carefully. Stone assents. Medwin then signs off and Nigel helps the old woman back into her wheelchair. Before leaving Nigel hands Stone a purple business card with a silver pentagram and a phone number in England. Nigel then calms the old woman referring to her as “Gran”.

Lyssa Martin’s Face
After dealing with the HOGD MD and Stone meet with Detective Kaz. Kaz explains that he has a report for MD and that there has been a “break” in the Lyssa Martin case that needs their attention immediately. Once inside Kaz’s office he summons a rookie detective, Kelly Franklin, who has generated a report showing the various locations of the red lightning strikes. Stone notes that the center of many of the strikes are around ley lines. MD pinpoints the center of the strikes near the warehouse where Lamashtu was summoned. He also deduces that some of the outlying strikes are on cemeteries. He also finds some marks in the bayou.

The Detective then asks Officer Franklin to leave. He then shows the PC a video on a tablet. The grainy black and white video is from the outside of the industrial part building where Lyssa Martin’s body was found. The video shows a light colored van pull up. Two men and a woman (Lyssa Martin) get out of the van. Lyssa seems to be holding a conversation with the men. She is not being held captive in any way but her mannerisms seem to convey that she is nervous. The men get a large brown suitcase and several large gray totes out of the van. About an hour later the two men races out of the building and jump into the van. Both are looking over their shoulders as if there is something bad inside. As the van backs up the front bumper folds in half then pulls off of the van! A light then appears in thin air and shines on the tire tracks. It then clicks off and that is all that is shown!

Kaz then explains that they have tracked down the van and the driver. The van is owned by Grossman Studios. The driver is Marty Grossman. Grossman Studios is run out of a local office. Detective Kaz asks the PC to accompany him. At the office the hunters finds Grossman hanging from the ceiling tiles from an electrical cord. Coming out of his mouth is video tape. Searching the office reveals a camera that is in the front office. This higher quality video shows Grossman at his desk upset after the thinner man leaves. He turns as the door pops open. Next the video shows Grossman grab at his neck as he is lifted off the floor by some an unseen force! He struggles as his mouth fills with something that can also not be seen. Stone uses his vision and discovers that the electrical cable and video tape are in fact magical. They dimly radiate with Outer Dark energy.

After getting details on the other man from the Grossman Studios office the hunters race off. They decide that likely he is the next target. They find Matt Taylor’s apartment torn up but there is not a body present. After collecting several clues they find information on his girlfriend. They call her then with some clever phone call antics get the drunk girlfriend to reveal her address.

Hunter arrives at the girlfriend’s address first. He approaches the house carefully then peers through a window. Hunter finds Matt and his girlfriend snorting cocaine and listening to very loud music. Matt seems to be watching something on his mantle. To his shock he is looking at the skin from Lyssa Martin’s face! As the other hunters approach Hunter bashes through the window and quickly subdues Matt. The rest of the PC change into the house and take control of the situation. When Ron goes out to his truck to get some salt he spots a manhole cover opening. From the manhole cover a strange creature built from an old video camera, a brown suitcase, extension cords, a gray tote, and a light stand crawls out. It moves directly towards the house ignoring everything else in its path! At that moment the PC realize that this creature is Lyssa Martins restless spirit who is seeking revenge! Ron grabs the cold rolled iron sword from his truck lockbox and moves up to stop it!

[  Author’s Note: This is the episode synopsis for the 18th session of the Dark Waters Rising campaign. This is my take as to what happened during the session. Please let me know if there are any comments or corrections.  ]

The Day After
It has been a day since Lamashtu was banished from our realm back to hell. Even though the pressing evil is gone the characters are uneasy. Alastair wakes with a vivid dream about being kidnapped and thrown into a swamp. Winston has located a 10th century German book on alchemy that he begins to reconstruct. MD calls Detective Takashi and asks for information on where the red lightning bolts struck then tells him to call if anything “unusual” happens. Anne gets a report that there is a bug on her car but decides that she has more pressing matters.

Lyssa Martin’s Face
Winston and MD get a call from Detective Takashi. Apparently there has been a murder and he needs a cleanup and some help. The murder is at an industrial park in an empty building that is for lease. Inside lashed to some industrial shelving is a woman who appears to have been flayed. Clues at the scene include:

• The victim’s face is missing.
• The cuts used to pull back the skin are made with a short bladed knife.
• A gray equipment box with a frayed electrical cord is nearby. It appears that the cord was forcefully yanked from a socket placed in front of the body. The box is spray painted with “Flesk Rentals”.
• A bloody set of Men’s size large scrubs with no hospital logo.
• Clothes and ID from the victim who identify her as Lyssa Martin.

The characters wonder why the perpetrators left the scrubs and Lyssa’s belongings at the scene. After a cleanup of the crime scene the groups leaves.

Sutherland And The Deep Dark Hole
Anne texts the characters and asks them to meet at MD’s airboat landing at the edge of the swamp. The plan is to discuss what they want to do with Jason Sutherland. After some heated discussion the group decides that the two options are a bullet to the head or to drop him into a “deep dark government hole”. They decide to give Jason the choice on what should be his fate. Sutherland decides that he would rather be alive in a “hole”. The team drugs him then return to meet Anne’s contacts.

As they travel to the meet with Sutherland in their trunk Anne spots a tail and alerts the rest of the hunters. They all then realize that they are all being tailed! Each group creatively loses their tail and while doing so discover that a local PI named Frank Gitrare arranged the tails. After luring Frank to the dock the group learns that he was hired by a man with a British accent to find Sutherland. Stone discovers that Frank’s car has been marked with a tracking symbol in spray paint. With that knowledge the group tells Gitrare to call the British man and setup a meeting at a local warehouse. Everyone then waits at the warehouse to see who or what will show up…

[  Author’s Note: This is the situation report for the 6th session of the Godlike Hero campaign. This is my take as to what happened during the session. Please let me know if there are any comments or corrections.  ]

8 January, 1944 – After defending Monte Majo from a counter-attack by two deadly half-tracks the talents of the FSSF get no reprieve. Over the next two days of freezing cold weather the talents are subjected to over 20 counter-offensives by the German’s. It seems that the Nazi’s highly value Monte Majo. On the morning of 8 January 1944 the Talents are elated to see their that they are getting relieved by the 133 Infantry. As they march down the frozen hillside they inspect their replacements. The men are green. They are either overconfident or too scared. Their canteens slosh around giving away their positions. These are soldiers which are new to the Front.

At the FSSF bivouac the group gets warm showers and a hot meal but their stay is cut short by a visit from General Frederick’s aide. They are ordered to meet in the command tent immediately. At the command tent they are told that Monte Majo has fallen and must be retaken. They are also informed through the intelligence service that a group of cold and winter based Ubers known as “Ãœberkommandogruppe Thor” are working in their area. Tap is given a briefing on the Nazi Ubers. Grabbing their gear the talents and roughly 50 of their brethren in the FSSF return to the hillside.

As they make their way up they see a strange fog surrounding Monte Majo. Once inside the fog they find bails of staked out rusted barbed wire. This confuses them as there is no way the German’s could have setup the barbed wire so quickly. A few yards forward they find a series of trenches lined with sandbags. It looks like the Vimey Ridge?!? With that the talents jump into action. Tank jumps into a machine gun nest and knocks out the Nazi soldiers with his ferrous metal fists! Sparky takes down another with a well place shotgun blast! As they approach Tap uses the eyes of a soldier who happens to be an Uber! He uses this to direct the attacks of the other talents. Butcher derps some soldiers giving tank some needed cover. As the battle rages a dense snowstorm approaches giving cover to an Uber who is throwing deadly icicles. Sparky blast three Ubers with 6 sticks of dynamite then takes a blow from a water blast. Tank approaches dowsing the three Ubers with a flamethrower! Behind Butcher derps the icicle Uber. To his surprise the snowstorm clears and the Uber is shot from behind by one of his compatriots! Turns out that the Nazi Uber doing the snowstorm is the man Abrianna mentioned wanting to defect. Once the Ubers are down the FSSF cleans up the hillside.

10 January, 1944 – After two days of rest advance scouts report that they need the help from the talents. Apparently there is a large half-dome of ferocious snow and wind heading down the mountain toward the camp. Inside one recon squad is trapped. After doing some investigation the talents decide that the best course of action is to man one of the half-tracks and take it into the globe. Sparky fixes one up then does the driving. As it hits the globe it rocks but he keeps it on course. Inside the team finds a FSSF soldier who needs help. They take him into the half-track. After some investigation they find that under the storm is a tunnel. With powerful blows Tank digs out a hole to the tunnel.

Jumping down the group finds a strange scientist manning a small remote vehicle with tank treads. The vehicle appears to be producing the dangerous globe upstairs. In front of the device is an Uber who is making a tunnel for them to advance. Tap does some recon by entering the vision of one of the guards. After some brief talk the talents attack. Tank leads off with the flamethrower blast followed by Tap and Butcher. Quickly the Nazi’s surrenders when Butcher explains the situation to them. To their surprise inside the device is not functional. Apparently the Uber scientist was willing it to function using some type of superpower.

Just another week in the lives of the Black Devil talents!