Monday, December 17, 2012

Qags: Game Over

i've been kicking an idea around for the past 6 months about a convention game called "Game Over" where the players are video game icons who have been dragged out of their respective franchises and are sent on a mission by a machine called the "Console/Consul". this is one of the characters i have stat-ed out for the game. (whenever that happens)


these are just some rough concepts, but i think assembling the cast is half the battle. hopefully the dynamics of the group will help the story write itself.

MK


i'm working on a few things right now.

i'm reading a copy of EPOCH for review on this site, which i had mentioned on this site in an earlier post. the rulebook is much longer that i expected, which is good, but is also time consuming. i should have that done in a bit.

i'm still typing up scenarios for Dread for posting here. again time consuming.

i've begun to brainstorm for the upcoming convention season. some good ideas, some interesting concepts.

with the christmas season rapidly approaching, i'm going to be very busy. so if i don't post for a while, i'm sorry, but i'll be back once things are a bit more settled.

see you soon.
MK

Monday, December 3, 2012

Looking for Something New? Check These Out.

i've been looking for some new things, mostly RPGs that are different and appealing, and i've come across several that i've looked deeper into, and that i'm currently reading.

Epoch: Fever Pitch and Epoch: Road Trip-- these are one shot survival horror games that run off of cards and how they characters deal with certain situations that the games force the players to encounter. i've downloaded both and have read Fever Pitch. Interesting concepts, and i would like to see the full Epoch rulebook to see how to make my own games for it.

Stars Without Number: think of a deep space RPG with some old school mechanics from 2nd Ed DND and stuff. it looks great. it reads great, and there are some great player aids in the back of the book about how to set up your own sector of space and how to inhabit it. reading now, and hopefully playing soon.

Atomic Highway: Post Apocalyptic roleplaying? yes please! it looks like the writers of this book are lovers of the genre, adding just about everything they can into this book. there's so much possibility in this game, and i'm real excited to delve into this one soon.

check em out!


i'l be bringing some new content very soon. right now i'm typing up my scenario for my second Dread session (which was the very first one that i ran) called "Welcome to Saw Hill. it's my Silent Hill and Saw mash-up game. it's very cool and bone-chilling at times, but a bit more in depth for the Host. i'm still in the setting section, but once i start posting the questionnaires, you'll know that i'm close to posting. more work to be done, so until then.

MK

Monday, November 19, 2012

The Little Shop On Skid Row

here are my general notes and outline for my "Little Shop on Skid Row" scenario for Dread. There is still some need for embellishment in some areas, allowing any potential host to add or fill in whatever they need. the key thing to remember is to have fun and enjoy it.

without further ado:

Little Shop on Skid Row


it's been a year since the event that became known as “The Mushnick Incident” . The little flower shop lies in ruins, it's owner missing and the two employees Seymore Krelborn and Audrey Dubois leaving skid row despite being wanted for questioning by the police. It was shortly thereafter this incident that the scientists and armed guards from W.B.E. came down to skid row. They had authority from the highest powers that be to quarantine the area. They built a wall around skid row, sealing all entrances and exits. Skid row became a lawless zone, where its every man for themselves.

Important things:

Drops: WBE sends food via helicopter drops once a day at 10am at Green Park. They give out enough food to feed the general population of Skid Row (approx 500) however, without a presence in the streets, hoarding and extortion take over.

There are also unscheduled drops not affiliated with WBE that happen from time to time. Certain criminal elements might have some outside connections.

Environment: Skid Row is a filthy place, so much so that all that really occurs during the daytime hours is a horribly overcast day, with a sun that appears distant and barely visible through the cloud cover. At night the sky generally clears a bit with some occasional clouds.

Generally the place Is always bathed in colors of black gray and blues.

Streets Graveyard: when people die, there used to be a place to put them. With the only cemetery filled to capacity, or reserved for those with the cash, the populous has had to resort to burying the dead in piles of rubble on the streets near the old church. The old overpass, now decrepit and crumbling, serves at the marker for the makeshift burial site.

Power and Connection: The WBE is in control of the power grid and is blocking/controlling all calls. The power is often sporadic, but there are ways around the power outages. Perhaps a side mission of hacking into the power grid could be possible here.

What's really going on?: the WBE (World Botanical Enterprises) has quarantined off skid row, because they have reasonable evidence that Audrey II is still in the area. Where the alien plant has gone, they know not for certain, but they intend to find out by sending out search/raid parties into skid row.

After the collapse of mushnick's flower shop, Audrey II retreated into the severs, she was badly damaged from the falling building. Needing time to heal, she fed off the sewer rats and other assorted creatures for almost a full year. She is stronger now, moving along the tunnels, looking for a way out. She still needs nutrition, so she has found ways to snag people on her own and devour them. She is getting bigger day by day, and her vines can reach almost anywhere in the city. If she gets too big, she can leave the sewers and rampage through the city.

The characters know very little about the Mushnick incident and the true story behind the ongoings. If they wish, they can pull to see how much they really know, by a number of pulls, at the beginning of the game. Otherwise, they will need to discover the info for themselves, whether by seeing an old person who knows, or by visiting a hall of records somewhere.



The flow of events:

Day 1:
the Drop at Green park 10am.-players will have to fight for their daily rations provisions and needed supplies. Seedier characters will try to get what they want.
A wayward package drops away from the park and heads towards an alleyway. The group should notice this package, and should hopefully see that another person is in pursuit and chasing it down. The characters hopefully should take chase, if not , they'll here a scream, and maybe investigate.
If they get to the alleyway, they find the package, coated with a green slime, no sign of the person giving chase, and perhaps a leaf. The package holds something valuable it it.

Once the provisions are secured, they can go about their normal business, but they begin to notice that some people are a bit on edge. They've heard rumors of people disappearing, missed appointment, and the increased amount of missing persons being posted on the structures. “It seems that everyone is looking for someone who's missing”

if characters have some sort of contact, they're is a good possibility that someone might not make it to a meeting.

***

Night 1: the night sky clears enough to let some moonlight in, but that’s when the real lawlessness kicks. in. it is real dangerous to go outside, with muggers and gangs around every corner.

On the first night, there is a very faint pulsating green glow from the sewers, which can be dismissed as pollution. The second thing that goes on is voice mimicry. Audrey has learned to mimic human voices and even some sounds (the ruins) and can lure prey to her.

If the characters go out at night, and are assaulted by any gang, there is a chance that they will see a tendril come out of the sewers and try to take some prey during a fight.

There is a very slight chance that the characters will see a WBE party in skid row looking around.
***


Day 2: another day, another drop, this time, point out that there are some specific people missing from the first day. Also at this time, there is a very good chance that the characters will see a WBE party snooping around. There is also a good chance that some of the characters who have contacts are missing them.

Today will be the first time that the character come face to face with a part of audrey II. Wherever they are in skid row, for more that a short period of time , and it will provoke an attack with several tendrils and chomping heads. This attack is supposed to be a weakening of the tower, rather than getting a fatality. Several pulls are needed to injure the plant enough to force it to retreat into the depths.

This is designed to give the group some needed insight into what is really going on here. That there is a botanical terror running around and eating people. This should spark the group into trying to find out more information from someone, as well as a plan to take out the plant, or at least find a way to protect themselves.

***

Night 2: The night is restless for those who try to sleep in peace. There are more screams in the night and the streets are rampant with people running around everywhere. People are being dragged away into the shadows, never to be heard from again, and the WBE presence has stepped it up a notch, adding helicopters with searchlights to the search for the plant.
If the group runs around at night, there is a very good chance that they are either attacked by the plant, a gang, or they will be arrested by the WBE and held for questioning. All of these options are bad. The key thing to remember for this night is to survive and to be on guard.

***

Day 3: after last night, there are only a handful of people at the drop this morning. It is impossible to know if those absent are hiding in fear, taken by the WBE, or eaten by then plant. The streets are deathly quiet. The drop of supplies is meager on this day, which confirms the beliefs of the group.

A Helping Hand: if the group has not been able to formulate a plan up to this point, as few options can occur here:

The Stranger: a weather-worn man dressed in greasy combat fatigues is sneaking around the streets nearby Green Park. He is carrying a duffel bag in one hand as has an old rifle slung across his shoulder. He will not actively search out the characters or help them, but with the proper persuasion from the group, he will lend a hand and take them back to his hideout. His hideout is an Audrey II HQ with maps and pictures of the creature, newspaper clippings, and a full armory of weapons, including some new stuff from the WBE which he took off some of the guards. The stranger will tell the group what he knows, and where the plant should be. He will accompany the characters into the plant's lair and assist them in destroying the plant.

or

The Extra Drop: a large helicopter flies over the heads of the group and drops a special package at their feet. The box is quite large and contains several specialized weapons and equipment. The weapons appear to be tranquilizer rifles and gas canisters. gas masks are provided. A map points out a possible location for the creature in the sewer system. There is also a formal letter included in the box, which tells the group that the WBE knows about the characters and what they have been doing for the past 48 hours. The WBE is willing to cut a deal with the group and will assist them in the containment and capture of the plant, not its destruction. The WBE stresses this point by stating that if the plant is successfully captured, the WBE will allow the group to leave skid row without any issue or questions, and will set the characters up with a life and job outside the walls. If the plan results in the plant's death, all bets are off.

It is entirely up to the characters to decide on what direction of action they want to take.

***
The Lair: the final battle takes place deep in the sewers, where the plant has carved out its own catacomb-like lair. Once the group gets close to the lair on the map, the sewer floor will cave in and send the characters down a slide-like chute that deposits them on a huge pile of human bones. The stench in the catacombs is overpowering, smelling of raw compost and fetid water. There is a fresh water stream that runs down the side of the floor and flows deeper into the caves below. There is a large black opening on the wall that faces the group, and the sound of loud breathing echoes throughout the chamber.

As the character climb down the pile of bones and get closer to the large black cave opening, they notice that there are two more skeletons nearby the opening. These are still dressed and in good condition. One is a small male that is wearing a black suit and tie, white shirt, and glasses. The other is female, wearing an off-white dress and a pearl necklace. These are obviously the remains of Seymore and Audrey who were thought to have escaped Skid Row, but now the truth is known about the couple's whereabouts.

As the characters enter the black cave, they can see the faint outline of a giant fly-trap plant. It appears to be sleeping, but it is still imperative for the group to remain quiet, because the plant is hypersensitive to sound. The smallest noise will wake the plant and send it into a fit of rage.
***

The Battle: nothing can be said for the group of characters and what they are trying to accomplish in this battle, but the plant sticks to a few tactics and will use them freely.

Tendril/Vines: This is Audrey II's main attack. She will use several of her vines and attempt to slap around the group as much as she can. The size of the vines can range from thin as a whip to as large as a tree trunk.

Chomp: Audrey II has a huge mouth that can just about disable any person unfortunate enough to get stuck into the giant maw. If a character gets stuck in there, it's going to be very difficult to get out of the maw before being chomped. Another option is that there are several smaller heads of the plant on the ends of some of the vines and are biting for significantly lesser damage.

Bringing Down the House: self preservation only goes so far, but in a last ditch effort all bets are off, when the plant is close to being knocked out or killed, it will try to finish the job by any means necessary, even if it means bringing down everything on top of it. The plant will use it's attacks to go after structure points to bury everything and everyone. Perhaps the plant is betting on the fat that it survived a structural collapse once, and that its strong enough to survive another one.

***
The Wrap Up: whether the plant is destroyed or captured, there are a few loose ends that need to be tied up. There is a chance for the character to escape Skid Row by venturing deeper into the sewer system to find themselves outside the walls. Or perhaps they choose to confront the WBE and hope that they remain faithful to their bargain (if the group chose to go that route). The one thing to remember here is that not all the questions should be answered, because there's always a chance for a sequel.



Saturday, November 17, 2012

Dread: Fun for the Family

i've had a breakthrough, a moment of brilliance. And it's all thanks to some free stuff at drivethrurpg.

at one of the conventions i regularly attend with my daughter, i usually spend some time in the family room, where there are kid friendly games available and lighter content versions of more prominent games. my friends often are the overseers of the family events, and i am often brought in to assist in doing something interesting for the kids.

i generally bring events to these places that i'm very familiar with, like Qags and our homespun Clash of the Kaiju mini game. I use Dread for great horror games, but the system is sound enough for everything.

now, a few days ago, i was checking out the free stuff section of DriveThruRPG, just trying to find some fun and interesting things. i came across some adventures for a game called "Fantasy Adventures for Kids" by Jen Games. i took a look at them, and it's relatively simple design. a simple dungeon that goes from room to room, and each room has a puzzle or a combat in it. nothing major, nothing really scary, but challenging.

i downloaded three items:

castle of blood: this one caught my eye initially. typical villagers/adventures going after a dracula-ish character in his castle. cool

citadel of madness: a sunken citadel rises from the depths, and the characters have to get Cthulthu to sleep again. SWEET!  also doesn't hurt that the shape of the dungeon is in the shape of a nautilus spiral.

The tomb of despair: typical dungeon crawl with a lich. nice.

so i have my ideas and scenes already here. but what about the questionnaires?

i got to thinking. a figured that i have i bit more leeway with these things. instead of questions, i would have simple statements. statements that explain the general concepts of the character.

for example:

Max: Monster Hunter (idea for Castle of Blood)

You have read every known book on monsters

You tend to have nightmares when you sleep...if you sleep at all.

You carry holy water, your old journal, and matches with you at all times.

Bats tend to make you a little uncomfortable.

etc.

this will help me make several characters to start, and to use several times throughout the convention.

also, i thought about a mechanic that allows the kids to get out of difficult situations without severely weakening the tower. perhaps a quick hand of War can convince me to help them solve a puzzle or help them get away from a swarm of bats rather than killing them. purely an optional idea.

the final bit is something we all know. the tower falls, someone gets knocked out of the game. doesn't have to involve death. they can just run away in fear. also, should have some candy on hand for the kids that get knocked out first.

all for now.

MK

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Let's Explore...Super Dungeon Explore!

i picked up this board game several months ago, but had never played until last night.

its called Super Dungeon Explore and its a dungeon crawl game that emulates the good old days of  8-bit/ 16-bit RPGs. it sets heroes vs the consul and his minions. there are a multitude of minis, cards, counters, and dice in the set. tons of goodies to deal with.

so last night i got over to a couple of friends' house and was able to sit down and play a few games. the first game was  an 8bit game, which consists of two heroes vs the consul's denizens and a mini boss. that game was more or less the intro game that really helped us grasp the flavor of the game and the small nuances of the game. the game ended in my defeat, since i was the consul.

the second game was a 16 bit game, which involved 3 heroes vs the consul's denizens, minions, a mini-boss, and the main dragon boss.  that game went in my favor, with the dragon coming out and flaming everything in sight.

after the game, we sat around and discussed the pros and cons of the game.

the pros: its a great looking game that really captures the flavor of what its trying to capture. the minis are well sculpted and even a bit cute since they're Chibi in design. all components are high quality and built to last. play is picked up rather easily during an initial playthrough.

the cons: this game is pricey to begin with, and with several expansions on the way, it's going to be an investment. as a player, the game will become boring after several playthroughs with the basic set, since the same monsters will be out on the board every time. the consul's options are very limited in this set, and it will become apparent that at least one expansion will have to be bought.

the verdict: it's a great game, but it's going to hit you in the wallet.

also, i want to point out this group on youtube that has a great game series that explains how to play as well as an actual gameplay series. this first vid was perfect to getting a taste to what the game entails. kudos to them.

WatchItPlayed

that's all for now. see ya.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

KAMB: Kobolds Ate My Blog?

I consider myself an open-minded individual. as such, my tastes are as diverse as the weather. some things call to me to try out, while other i give a fair shake, but choose to put aside. i'm serious at times, and other times i'm goofy and carefree. it all depends on what kind of mood i'm in.

several years ago, at my local game store, i came across Kobolds Ate My Baby. having heard of it, but never played it, i was curious. seeing that there was a new super deluxe edition on the shelves and in a pretty good hardcover edition. i decided to pick it up.

after reading the 30 page book cover to cover, my gaming life has never been the same.

KAMB! is perhaps one of the best games that i have ever played just for fun. its hilarious and strangely therapeutic. the situations are both strange and engaging. lunacy and chaos always seem to prevail in these games, but in the end you're left with a smile on your face a mile wide.

so, what's the deal?

you start off playing as a kobold. not the DND lizard type, but a small, furry, dog-faced gremlin with a taste for babies and a penchant for mayhem. sounds scary, but their inherent lack of intelligence and self preservation tends to tip the scales to the advantage of baby survival. these poor, furry, dumb creatures don't know any better, and often they end up dying in some horrific way during the course of the game.

so why play?

well, for one, after reading the book you know exactly what you're in for in the first place. nobody really likes these little buggers; not their king (ALL HAIL KING TORG!), their patron god Vor, chickens, people, and their own species. the kobolds are on their own in this one, and will often fight with each other to complete their tasks. it makes for an interesting dynamic.

two, when forced to rely only on yourself, and you have the cumulative intelligence of a pet rock, you tend to become very inventive with the items you have on hand. a slightly broken 10 foot pole might not seem very useful to you and i, but to a kobold it's perfect for knocking the geriatric nanny unconscious and tying up the kiddies to carry them back "shish kabob style".

so, is it always about eating babies?

no...and yes. kobolds are eating machines, and will try to eat anything in sight, especially each other. the best way to describe them are as rabid wolves that are very very dumb and very very small. their voracious eaters, but really don't know what's edible. sometimes, they can cheat death with their dumb luck. other times, the luck runs out and they have to roll on the "Kobold Horrible Death Chart". Usually this results in a random implosion, explosion, a meeting with Vor, a meeting with Chuck Norris, picked apart by chickens, explosive flatulence, and any other numerous horrible way to die that the Mayor (the referee) can come up with.

so, should i play this game?

why are you still here? GO PLAY IT!

now that my questionnaires are up for the Dread scenario "Little Shop on Skid Row", i will be spending some time typing up the actual scenario. i will be posting it here within the week, so stay tuned and good gaming.


Dread Questionnaire #9

another for Little Shop on Skid Row

Con Artist

How old were you the first time you were arrested, and why?







When and what was the last job you held down?







Why do you think your so good at conning people?






Who have you made connections with and why have you maintained that relationship?






What is your favorite con?







Who is your favorite type of mark?





What items do you find indispensable in your line of work?


How long have know known the the police are actively searching for you?







What distinguishing feature do you have that has gotten you recognized and ruined a few of your cons?







One of your normal “shills” had gone missing. How does this make you feel?






Why did you try to leave town?






How long has it been since you've seen your wife and kids? Do you miss them? Do you regret your decision to leave?






What's you name?

Friday, October 26, 2012

10 26 12: Dread Questionnaire #8

Another one for "Little Shop on Skid Row" 

Courier

How long have you been delivering messages downtown?






You don’t own a car, but what is you preferred method of transportation ?





What area of downtown do you always visit, due to no one else going there?





What items do you have that are perfect for your job?






What's the one thing you dislike about your job?






You took a nasty spill and your injury never fully healed. What happened?






When and what was the moment that you felt most alone?






Who is your favorite client?





You had the hots for a fellow courier. Who is he/she? Why haven't you seen him/her lately?






You've been diagnosed with a terminal illness. What is it? How long do you have to live?






Why do some people find you attractive, while others find you repugnant?





Who is most unhappy about your job?






What is your name?

10 26 12 Dread Questionnaire #7

another one for "Little Shop on Skid Row" and a real savvy person will recognize why this one is how it is.


Dentist

How long have you been a dentist?






How long have you been practicing without a license?






What perversion drives you?






You make significantly less money than other dentists because of your practice's location. How does that make you feel?






What terrible thing did you do when you were a child?






What's your secret fear?






Who come by the office and shakes you down for money?





Who do you know that's buried in that old cemetary? Why do you visit the grave every night?







Who supplies you "your fun stuff"?






You often hear that your look is “unsettling” as a dentist. Why is that?






What weird patient is stalking you?






What item do you always carry with you?






What's your name?

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

10 24 12 Dread Questionnaire #6

From Little Shop on Skid Row.

Homeless Person

How long have you been homeless and down on your luck?






What was your job before you ended up this way?






What items do you have on you, and which on is dearest to you?






People say that you're a bit demented. What's going on in that head of yours?






What do you do to keep your dementia in check?






You met a few other homeless who are contacts and they help you out. Who are they and what do they do for you?






You've resorted to stealing for survival. What did you steal and why?



What do you miss most about your old life?






How do you feel about being stuck in the gutter?






How well do you interact with others?





What is your one biggest regret about your life?






What family member has cut all contact with you? When was the last time you talked to them?






What's your name?

10 24 12 Dread Questionnaire #5

Another for "Little Shop on Skid Row"

Janitor

what were your aspirations before becoming a janitor?







Where do you work, and why are the hours unusually long?






Why did your spouse leave you?






What is the one quality or skill that you have learned from the custodial arts?






What did you see at your workplace that you've kept a secret for almost a year?






How did you get that bad burn?






You haven't talked to your parents since you moved to the city. How do you feel about them?



What three items do you carry on you at all times?







Your friend has been missing for a few weeks. Who was he/she and what did he/she do?







You have a past conviction. What did you do?







Who is one of your better acquaintances downtown? Why?







What place do your consider your sanctuary?






What is your name?

Saturday, October 20, 2012

10 20 12 Dread Questionnaire #4

From "Little Shop on Skid Row"

Sleazy entertainer

You consider yourself to be an entertainer. Why do you hate being called a stripper?





What other profession are you studying at school?





Why do you occasionally turn tricks?






What opportunity did you turn down that you regret?






What item do you absolutely need for your job?






What other person do you know that frequents the club?






How did you accumulate so much debt that the collectors are looking for you?






What distinct feature sets you apart from the other performers?






What was your childhood like?






Who do you have frequent nightmares?






What advice did your friend give you before her disappearance?





What skill did you have to learn for your job?





What's your name?

10 20 12 Dread Questionnaire #3

Another Dread Questionnaire from "Little Shop on Skid Row"

Street Vendor

How has the street vendor business been lately?






What is the consumable that you sell?





What illegal item do you keep in your cart?





Who is your favorite regular customer?






What do you pedal on the side?






What other job did you have before becoming a street vendor?






What nickname do your customers call you?






Who is it that's trying to muscle in on your business?






What other person are you trying to support with the money from this job?







What's the craziest thing you've ever seen?






What do you look like?






What other customer do you have that you haven't seen in a week?






What is your name?

10 20 12 Dread Questionnaire #2

This was a player questionnaire i made for my "Little Shop on Skid Row" scenario for Dread. There have been some minor changes to a few of the questions, but they are still valid.

Thug

When did you learn that you like to hurt people?






What is your secret addiction? Who is your supplier?






How did you get involved with the wrong people? Who are they?






What hobby do you have that might be embarrassing if others found out about it?






Who is the one family member you actually care about?





Who are your usual contacts?






What items do you need for your handiwork?




What have you learned as a skill doing what you do?






Police are looking for you for a serious crime. What did you do?






What's the description that police have of you, and why is it wrong?






What job did you have for a while before becoming a full time criminal?





What's your favorite hangout?






What's your name?

going forward, this will be the home for my "Qags in a Bag" write-ups. looking forward to posting more.

looks like things are back to normal now, if not a little out of sequence, but on to fresh content now!

QiaB Entry 3 Gencon 2012

Proof again that not only do I tread that line between genius and insanity, I pick up that line and skip rope with it.

Again, brackets “[ ]” denote pulls from the bag, while parenthesis “( )” denote my thought process and out of context comments to the players.

Brady and Kevin were the first to arrive at the table, pod-casters that were at the game last year and wonderful individuals that I invited back this year. We were able to talk for a while as more players made their way to the table. Apparently everyone was coming from the farthest side of the convention to get to my table. Needless to say, we didn't get started on time.

One thing that was nice was that everyone at the table had played Qags before except one person, but he caught on right away. After a 20 minute wait, we got started.

( I pulled a clump of papers out of my bag, something I rarely do. I even told the players that I was not happy with the clumping of the papers.)

the initial pulls (10)

man knows things he's not supposed to know
we are broken
people part company
axe-wielding maniacs
thirst for knowledge
represent the dead
big bad bertha takes on giant monster
epic
I question mother nature
cathedralpult found

the initial theme:

(at this point, I plant my face squarely in my palm. First off, this is the third time that [we are broken ] has been pulled from the bag. Initially, that's a trigger for some sort of genetic mismatch, i.e. broken ones from Dnd 2nd ed. Tying that idea in with [thirst for knowledge],[man knows things he's not supposed to know](which is a reference trigger for anything Lovecraft),[ I question mother nature] and [represent the dead], I've got a lot of pulls that kind of fit together in a large clump of WTF. )

(initially, my mind reached back to the concept of the broken ones, and I think of “the island of Dr Moreau” and I also remember the doctor from the HP Lovecraft story “Cool Air”. I reference the doctor in my Kindle and find the name of Dr Munoz. There's my main villain. My mind looks across the pulls again and sees the Big Bad Bertha and I Question Mother Nature pulls. This combination triggers a look back at 70's films like “I Spit on your grave” and it also pulls in a bit of the character “”Papa Ceasar” from the video game “House of the Dead: Overkill” which is supposed to be like a exploitation/Grindhouse film.)

So, with some reluctance, I tell my players that i'm going to put together some words that probably shouldn't go together in the first place.

Theme: Lovecraft Grindhouse.

Character' creation: I tell my players that i'm looking for characters from the 1970's that might be found in grindhouse films. Detectives, private eyes, scientists, intellectuals, etc. as they hash out their characters and talk amongst themselves about what they need, I try to piece together an initial bit of plot.

Here's what the players come up with

Dictionary Larry: a play on Encyclopedia Brown, a kid detective that solves crimes.
Silver Bullitt: an old stunt car driver and mechanic.
Eagle-Bro: a biker who think he's a shaman and might know magic
Johnny “Lightning” Barnes: actor/stuntman/kung fu badass/ movie star
Dr Bob: Former Radical Professor Hopper Type
Ted Zepplin: seedy nightclub owner
Spanky Diggs: PhD hippie psychic

after approval and general character intro, we got on with it.

The game:

the characters all work for a public company called The Syndicate, which does all sorts of stuff and hires people from all walks of life with different skill sets to do things. (OOOOOKKKAY!!!???) They are called into a meeting with Dr Barnes (no relation to Johnny) who looks like a grizzled Charlton Heston from True Lies. He gives the agents the task of finding Dr. Munoz (I state that there's a lot of doctors in this game apparently). Dr Munoz is the leader of the Zowlow Clan, which is a Haitian Voodoo/ Drug Running crime cartel thingie. Anyway, they are coming into the Miami airport to pick-up/drop off some drug called “grave dust” and that the agents must stop this transaction.

The group talks amongst themselves and formulates a plan to use johnny lightning’s personal plane (an eight prop doubled plane similar to Soul Plane with all the luxury accommodations) to trail the incoming Munoz plane, and then proceed to perform a car stunt with Silver Bullitt and drive her car into Munoz's plane. Ok, sounds like a plan to me.

So, as the group has a little bit of downtime, they party it up on the plane, when they all hear a loud bang and smell smoke. Apparently, there is another plane following them and shooting rockets at them while they themselves are following Munoz's plane. After losing a few engines, Johnny's personal pilot asks them what he should do? He tells the pilot to get as close as he can to Munoz's plane and has Bullitt get ready to drive. The group all packs into Spanky Diggs's bus, and the stunt driver shoots the vehicle out of her plane and into the other plane without a hitch. However, all planes collide and are heavily damaged. They fall from the sky and the group blacks out.

The group awakens, having manage to survive the crash with barely a scratch. They realize that they are no longer in Miami, but on a large jungle island with much dense vegetation. Their ride, the bus is completely trashed and unable to be repaired by the mechanic/stunt man. The hippie decides to climb a tree and finds that there is one lone beach directly to the east and a large mansion to the north of the island.

As they travel through the dense jungle with the hippie at the lead, they fail to notice (on several different occasions) that the jungle sounds are extremely different in this area. ( I was going to have them try to notice that there were sounds of some creature nearby that seemed to be some sort of growling form of communication, but the players failed the rolls every time.) As the group nearly reaches the mansion, the hippie sees a large shadowy creature trailing them on the left side of the jungle he gets a bit freaked, but he has Johnny Lightning come by and take care of the situation the best he can (which at times was great because the character was a big mean talker, but would often either make the matter worse, or react completely different to the way you'd expect him to.) The creature leaps out and gets the drop on poor Johnny Lightning, who is now screaming like a little girl. Both the hippie and the seedy nightclub owner try to help out and eventually get the creature subdued with a serious handful of downers.

Upon examination of the creature, they see that it is a composite animal, a hybrid of human and animal [we are broken] put together with some sort of operation. This discovery leads them to [question mother nature] but They shrug this off and move on, being more cautious as they finally get to the mansion. Spanky knocks on the door and is greeted by a curt and callous small german fellow. The crazy hippie manages to get into the mansion, talking his way in and admitting he has to use the bathroom. He gets in and the rest of the group follows in. the german heads upstairs and a loud conversation starts with what can be assumed to be the master of the house. After a few minutes, the german comes back to the room, and offers lemonade to the group. The german lets the group know that he is supposed to offer hospitality to the group, but that they must leave soon because they are very busy running the mansion.

As the hippie searches the house, he gets a look around and sees several other servants running around and each is more diminutive in stature than the last. Also, the hippie is more lucky than good (his gimmick) and finds a hidden passage. The hippie returns to the group, then leads them down into the passage where they find a huge rough laboratory, there are several animals in cages, and some are being occasionally shocked by electricity. Others are being force-fed chemicals and IV's of various meds. Johnny assures the group that this is all necessary for good makeup products (typical meathead machismo, and a great spot to drop it). Additionally they see a large bay door that has been torn and bent as is a large creature escaped. The group assumes that the creature was the one that they subdued in the jungle. Further research around the lab reveals a door that has been weakly padlocked. Strange sound emanate from the room beyond the door.

The kid detective decides to try and pick the lock. He gets a quirky success. He takes the lock off opens the door and stares directly into the yellow eyes of a panther that jumps out and takes him down. The action star tries to help out, but ends up getting scratched across the face for his efforts. The action star and hippie try to find a natural predator to the panther, perhaps a large lizard that’s poisonous enough to subdue the big kitty. As the two go off and start looking for a predator, the stunt woman whacks the panther over the head with her wrench and rolls ridiculously well. So the scene that unfolds goes like this:

“The Hippie and the Action Star are going through a montage with “Come on, get Happy” playing over the whole scene. They are going through several different doors in a hallway, and each time emerging from a different door. They have a few good laughs as they play hide and seek. Finally, they find the cage of a large lotus eating lizard of reasonable lethality. The duo smiles, slaps high fives, thumbs up, etc, then return to the panther, only to find the beast dead on the floor with a wrench sticking out of its skull an a self satisfied smirk on the face of the stunt driver mechanic. The soundtrack “Come on, get Happy is abruptly cut off with a loud scratch on the album.”

Eagle-Bro , the biker-turned magic man gets an idea, knowing that this panther larger than what it's supposed to be, and decided to imbue the dead panther with the metallic soul of his motorcycle that was destroyed in the plane crash (yes, it was on the plane. Go with it). So now, we have a large panther cycle for transport. I decided that this was an [epic] moment. Anyway, the group looks around and finds that this is the room where the hybrids are held and prepped for shipping. Apparently there is a company called Optimus that better then half of these hybrids are being shipped to their warehouse. It seems that whoever is doing these experiments is being paid quite well. At the back of this holding room there is a large cellar door with a rusty lock. Again, the kid detective picks the lock and heads down into a crypt where there are pieces of the dead everywhere. Some of the pieces are fresh, some are on the verge of rotting, but it becomes all too obvious that these are some parts that are being added to the animals to make the hybrids.

In the center of this crypt, there is a pedestal that has a large book upon it. It turns out to be a scientific journal/ledger/black book that has all sorts of bad bad stuff in it:
to paraphrase (and this is where I was able to really offload a ton of my initial pulls), the passages of the book had the following info.

Journal area: the writer says that he has [learned something that man was never meant to know] and that his [thirst for knowledge] has led him to new discoveries about life. He has [represented the dead] by giving dead tissue a second chance to live, and that the living that uses it has a chance to benefit from such a union. He also mentions that the shocking of animals and chemical induction can both augment the creatures on the molecular level, making them [overly energetic] and more aggressive/ docile (whatever the needs of the clients might be.)

Ledger area: the book holds information about this Optimus group. The writer refers to them as a [“people part” company] it seems that this company is bringing in the components to make these hybrids, and in return the hybrids are being brought to optimus to put them into slave labor, such as mines and dangerous work. There is also a bit of information that optimus wants to get into [deep space operations] which is something completely unheard of in the 1970's.

Upon further examination, the handwriting is clearly that od dr Munoz. The group hears footsteps coming down the stairs in the laboratory, so they take the book and hide as best they can. Dr, munoz emerges from the upper lab, looks around the crypt, then notices that the book is missing, he goes to leave, but the action star kicks some equipment onto the doctor, while another drugs the doc to subdue him.

The doc is interrogated some more, and tells them that he's a bad guy. The drugs (grave dust) is just his side business, but this is where the money really is. He's defiant even under sedation. He does tell the group that there is a group of [axe-wielding maniacs] on the east side of the island, and that is why there are so many hybrids in his possession. He also mentions that he has a boat standing by on the west side of the island, manned at all times by a servant named pedro.

The group thinks that the best plan of action is to get munoz off the island and back to the syndicate. They wish to avoid the axe maniacs at all costs. So they head out. Munoz gets more courses of drugs from those select few that took some drugs from the lab. (mostly the professor, the hippie, etc.) munoz realizes in a drugged stupor that the time warp can indeed be created again with just a jump to the left [rocky horror picture show](yes, that's an actual pull from the bag)

the group comes across a large bayou with a ramshackle shack. There's an old black woman sitting on the porch with a shotgun in her hands. She's rather mean spirited to the group as they approach, but the whole conversation gets cut off when a large bear-like creature breaks through the tree line. The woman, who is known only as big bad bertha, begins fighting the giant monster [big bad bertha takes on giant monster]. The action star gets in on the action, but again proves to be ineffective against the giant beast. Big bad bertha takes the monster down, looks at the action star and calls him a “sucka”. (the action star's dumb fact was that he was a sucka, just once. It was a sore point for him) anyway, the two get to fighting, and the action star takes the woman down. He is glorified and feels that he has reached the apex of his conditioning. I go along with this, and let him see if he can obtain this zen-like pinnacle of perfection. He makes the roll, I reach in the bag, and extract [lake wizard] on a piece of paper. The action star, now has lake wizard powers, and gains a [talisman] that grants him his powers.
The new lake wizard tries to use the bayou to make a wave to ride to the west side of the island. After several attempts, he gets a small wave that makes it a little faster for travel.

The group makes it to the dock with the boat. They find Pedro on the dock...and on the boat...and in the boathouse... there's blood everywhere. The group looks to the treeline as the mechanic tries to hot-wire the boat. As the boat roars to life, and everybody piles in, an axe comes flying out of the treeline and embeds itself into the hull of the ship. There are axe maniacs everywhere on both sides of the dock, and they are flinging their axes with some seriously crappy accuracy (stupid dice)

as they are traveling, the lake wizard is trying to navigate by locking his senses onto the nearest lake, which should take them back to Florida at least. During this time, the professor is “science-ing the panther” and mounting the shotgun from Big Bad Bertha into the mouth of the panther. Additionally, the several course meal of drugs is still being administered to Munoz, who is looking green and sickly. He's still slightly coherent, but pretty much is in a semi vegetative state.

The group gets back to Miami. They dock the boat, head to the Syndicate building, when all of the sudden the whole building collapses into a large [pit]. The group looks down into the pit to see a gibbering mass of tentacles, teeth and eyes rise up to greet them. The colossal beast emerges from the depths, looks squarely at the seedy nightclub owner and demands the book. (mainly, the creature picks out this player because he failed his nerve roll) the nightclub owner is grabbed by the large Cthulhu like creature, and is carried off into the city.

Diggs, our hippie drug user who communes with the spirits, has a fantastic idea. He attempts to switch spirits between the seedy nightclub owner and the lizard that they saved from the mansion. (yes, they still have the lizard, go with it). Diggs enters a trance like state, and manipulates the energies to make this happen, and surprisingly it works, so the nightclub owner is now a kung-fu fighting lizard.

Instead of giving chase to Cthulhu, the group peers down into the depths of the pit and see a distant fire burning on the bottom of this pit, and there is the sound of chanting wafting ever so faintly from the pit. Using both the motorcycle panther and a stunt car, the group gets to the bottom by death spiraling around the pit at top speeds to keep them stuck to the side of the crater. (genius!) they reach the bottom to find a makeshift alter, torched mounted on the wall, and there is a walkway leading into another room. The group goes through the passage to find themselves in a large circular room with metal catwalks on the walls and an empty floor with a large seam that run across the room from north to south. A very large window is up high on one of the cylindrical walls. The lizard decides to climb up the wall, and takes the professor along for a ride. The two scale the wall with reasonable difficulty, but make it up to the window to peer in. they see people in robes with hoods manning several different stations with technical readouts, keyboards, and monitors. There are also five men in orange jumpsuits with numbers on their chests chained together, and one of the robed figures hands each a different weapon (generally something that looks scary and does a lot of damage in the right hands. Machete, chainsaw,etc.) odd, right?

the large circular room gets bathed in red lights and sirens go off all around the group. The seam in the floor splits open [beneath their feet] and a large rocket rises into the room. The group realizes they're in a missile silo, and that they need to stop that thing from launching. It is about this time that the lizard and the professor bust into the room, and the professor uses a vial that he procured from Munoz's lab. The vial breaks open upon impact and there is a [gooey caramel nexus] that looks like the Mars company made a black hole weapon. It swirls around the room and takes the cultists and killers with it before it seals itself up again. (cool!)

meanwhile, Diggs decides to have a close look at the rocket, and climbs up into the cockpit area. There, he finds a file called “project alpha: aka [serial killers on the moon]. For what purpose this project was for is still unknown, but Diggs was sure that their math and theory was way off and that the project was doomed to fail. Moreover, Diggs shuts down the rocket.

Now the epic part:

there's still a cthulhu running around town, and that needs to be taken care of immediately. The team decides to create a fighting machine out of the motorcycle-panther. With many rolls and yum yums, the group disassembles the rocket, then builds it into the panther. The result is Giga-Panther

this robotic beast was described as such:

shotgun enabled roar
powered by lakes
the soul of a motorcycle
the heart of a panther
it has the gooey caramel nexus laser
it is kung-fu compatible

instantly, I think that the creature is missing something (having seen way too many monster movies) I look over my list of pulls and notice that i've forgotten something. I tell them that the cultists had found a special weapon from ages ago, and now the group had [found the cathedralpult]. Needless to say, we all decide to mount the weapon on the Giga-Panther

we break the workload down into several stations before the fight with Cthulhu

Johnny Lightning controls the power systems (lake wizard powers)
Eagle Bro and Spanky Diggs are using a spiritual guidance systems
Silver Bullitt is running the engineering
Dictionary Larry is looking through the book, trying to find any sort of ritual that could weaken or banish Cthulth
Dr Bob is running the science area
Ted Zepplin/ lizard is hooked into the kung fu interface and running weapon systems.

So the battle rages on for a while, then eventually the cathedralpult is fired. The damage roll is terrible, but it's enough to stun the creature. The Giga-Panther grabs cthulhu and throws him high in the air, then fires the gooey caramel nexus at cthulhu, who basically turns into a heath bar and is trapped and ported away to another dimension.

The game ends with the character's planning on rebuilding and running the new syndicate, they find that Munoz is dead due to extreme chlorophyl poisoning, and the group lets Giga-Panther free to defend the world, which walks away in the tide towards the setting sun, raising a steel paw to the sky and roaring loudly.


So I have to say this: the game was fun, though I really had to work just to get several pulls out of the way all at once. It was still random, but slightly more structured than most years. I really look forward to next year, and I hope to get to run this event real soon.

That's all for now

MK

QiaB entry 2 How its Made

from 2011

tomorrow, (i hope) i should have the write up for one of the best games that i have ever run in my signature convention game, Qags-in-a-bag.

and what, pray tell, is Qags-in-a-bag? allow me to explain... gear up kiddies, this is the long version of the origins of the fabled and mysterious bag.

let's travel back in time to late June 2006. exactly one week before Origins '06

Saturday evening, i'm in Point Place, at the annual Summerfest and Fireworks extravaganza. hanging out with family. for some strange reason, my father asks me if they are to expect anymore grandchildren. i reply, "No, it hasn't happened at this point. I'm pretty sure it's not going to happen."

Sunday, my wife informs me that she is pregnant with our second child. Karma's a bitch, right?

so, she tells me that i should go to the con and have a good time, and not really worry about the pregnancy situation. so i go. it is this weekend that i discover the Qags 2nd Edition rulebook, and it's also the first time i get into a qags event at a convention. i fell in love with the system and wanted to run something for my friends as soon as i could.

and i did, my group manages to do a game that we wanted to for a long time; a superhero game in which you pull your name from a hat and design your character around that name. it was mad fun.

so, after that, Qags became my default system for quick adventure. but i wanted a faster delivery system. from my previous experience, i know that gaming while having a child happens at a premium. i began to kick around an idea of creating a true random adventure generator, something that i could just pull out and in a matter of seconds i could get a game going. kinda like mad libs for RPGs.

so i looked at how i did the character creation for our superhero game. small pieces of paper. nothing special. i began to write other things down on the paper. game mechanics, places, persons, things, sayings, concepts, fully realized ideas, etc. after a while i had a bit of a pile of small papers. i began to throw it into a brown paper lunch bag to hold them all. i wrote "Qags Lunch" on the bag, just to make sure that it wouldn't get lost in the mix of other bags.

the bag slowly filled with ideas, but it was a long process, and after a while, i decided to try it out. i pulled out three or four pieces of paper at once, took a look at them, then began to put together some semblance of a theme. strangely, it worked. i pulled out three more, then made a second theme. i thought i was on to something.

so i tried it out on friends, and it seemed to work, though i really didn't have any specific rules for the game at this point, since i considered it free-form.

i debuted "Qags-in-a-bag" in 2008, since "Qags Lunch" didn't cover the concept very well, and "making $#!+ up off the top of my head" is a little lengthy. it's first public event was at BashCon in my home town. this was also the time that i inadvertently ran into two of the Hex Games staffers, those who write Qags and Qags related products.

so for 4 1/2 years now , i've been running this event, and i've still never had a duplicate game. fascinating.

I say that the "Qags-in-a-bag" game that i ran at Gencon this year was by far the best thing that i ever ran using this technique. again, i hope to have the full write up posted tomorrow.

Qags-in-a-bag: Invented By Necessity...Designed By Insanity...

MK

QiaB entry 1 Gencon 2011


the following is a transcript that i wrote out for my Gencon event. it's not 100% specific, but there is a lot to cover in a four hour game. this is real lengthy, so please bear with me, but it is about as fantastic as it gets. welcome to my mind.

Qags-in-a-Bag “QiB” Gencon 2011

the initial pulls: (6) these are shown to the players. Additional pulls during play are kept hidden until they are revealed.

odd angles and arrows/ surreal
gunned down
mutant league style
personal orbiting energy ball
PC changes Weakness
Doppler Effect

the initial setup (sci-fi mega-city cyberpunk judge dread)
location: New Detroit

the characters:
(each character is given an opening scene to introduce their character to the rest of the group.)

Elton Joel Tribute Man: his real name is lost because he has been an out of work impersonator of Elton John and Billy Joel. He is hired by his agent to be the entertainment for a High Society Event

Joe-Bob: a cyborg mall cop with built in GPS and Segway. He is hired to fill out the security detail for a high society event

Slick Shepard: Everyone's favorite arrogant TV show host. His main gig is a sports announcer on “MegaForceBall” a futuristic death sport. He is the main Interviewer of Big Bad Damocles; the sports largest star. Together they are supposed to attend the high society event.

Cranky old Man: an old man who lives above the venue where the high society is to be held. His joy in life is sitting outside on his balcony and telling the young to get off of his grass, even though he has no yard. His cane-jutsu is strong.

Super Jane Doe: a stunt woman who is clearly insane, thinks she is a superhero at times. She is hired to pull off a spectacular stunt at the Social Event.

Arthur (AKA Shithawk): master custodian at the venue of the social event. As he puts it, he doesn't give a shit unless its about shit.


The setup: note that [bracket entries] denote direct pulls from the bag and correlation to the overall plot:

Big Bad Damocles, famous MegaForceBall player, a [mutant league style] sport, has to go to a sports related high society event. He arrives with “Slick” in a limo. While entering, the entertainment and stunts go off without a hitch as the custodial and security details handle their jobs.
The old man above the venue decided to heckle Damocles, which throws him into a rage. Damocles begins to scale the side of the building and reaches the balcony of the old man.
As this is going on, a large semi barrels down the street, taking cars and vehicles out left and right, a shot rings out in the open air, and Damocles is [gunned down] and falls from the building and dies.
Local law enforcement descends on the scene and take the players into interrogations for statements. After several interesting statements, it is decided by the police that the players can clear their names by finding the real perps of the crime and bringing them to justice. The team returns to the scene of the crime and manage to find a clue of significant importance; a shard from the license plate of the semi.
The cyborg mall cop hacks into the mall database to see if he can get a match of the license plate. Amazingly, he does, and finds that the truck is owned by Michael Lablanc; heir to the Lablanc Shoes empire. He works at the mall, so it is justified that they would find the info there. They also find out that he likes to hang out at a local club called [the Doppler Effect].
The team goes to the Doppler Effect club, while several players schmooze with the ladies and alcohol is consumed, Shithawk goes to find the facilities. Shithawk happens to find Mr Lablanc in a stall performing some ritual with a [personal orbiting energy ball] and has manages to produce a swirling vortex just behind the toilet. One by one, everyone in the club is dragged into the vortex, though some are strong enough to resist the pull and walk into the vortex of their own free will.
The Players find themselves on a large square island, where all of the buildings and trees are bent at [odd angles and arrows/surreal]. The party continues on strong for a while, bu the players try to find a way around the island. Instead of finding a bus pass, they manage to find a sub pass. They go down into the subway, and find that there is literally small personal subs that can take you to anywhere on the island. During this time, the stunt woman superhero has failed to take a dose of her medication in a while. Though she fails her weakness roll, the weakness does not grip her, and she appears to be cured of her dependency here in this strange world. She is rewarded the option of [PC changes weakness], which she swaps out eagerly.
The sub ride goes uneventful, and drops off the players on the docks near the far end of the island. Again, the trees are bent inward towards the center of the island. The players move forward into the dense jungle, to find that they are attacked by [marionettes]. They are made to look like natives or some other tribal group. One is blown to bits by the mall cop with a built in rocket launcher, but then put together again by Elton Joel. He is dubbed “junkie” and after communication is established with the natives, the group is led to the camp of the marionette natives...

now comes one of the best highlights of the game. A player (out of character) throws out the comment that : “a native village like this might worship something strange, like an unexploded nuclear bomb. I smile at the player, then flip the [Doomsday Device] I pulled a few minutes before and exclaim “Oh My God! They have an unexploded nuclear bomb in the middle on their village!”

Back to the game: now that there is a bomb in the center of the village, all hell breaks loose. The old man beats on the bomb with his cane, while the stunt woman begins to crush the homes of the marionettes. During the time, the tribe shaman makes his way to the group, telling them to stop. He looks like he's very old and battle-worn, for he bears the [bite marks] of some animal on his wooden body. He manages to stop the attacks for now.
Meanwhile, Shithawk and Slick make their way back to the sub dock. It's about this time they realize that the reason the buildings and trees are bent is because the leakage of radiation from the bomb. As they frantically look for a way off the island they see several dots on the horizon flying towards them. As the dots get closer, they can tell that the dots are black ops helicopters. They hover over the island a heavily armed soldiers rappel down ropes. The soldiers perform as [strategic insertion] to recover the bomb and do so without incident. They leave as quickly as they arrived, and leave the players alone again with the marionettes.
One of the players notices that there is a [talisman] embedded in the ground where the bomb was resting. He hands it to the stunt woman/superhero, simply because it is in her same color scheme. Upon doing so, it actually gives her superpowers, and grants her [boots of immaculate speed]. She speeds around the poor village destroying more and more huts, fully convinced that they are evil. Several other attempts are made to stop her, but finally she is talked down and stops the attack. It is a little too late, however, as junkie is the last marionette to survive.
The players decide to leave, since there is nothing to do anymore at the island. They manage to pick up another sub and make their way to a second island, which seems to be a thriving old world town. There are all sorts of shops for food and goods.
Slick decided that his outfit isn’t working for this scene, so he plans on having a new suit made. He goes to find a unique bolt of cloth to make his suit stand apart from all the others. Something loud and gaudy, flashy but not overstated. He manages to get a truly unique patterned cloth that seems to shimmer and shift. Slick loves it, and pays top dollar for it. Then he finds a tailor to make the suit. Against all good taste, the tailor agrees to make the suit, but it will take a lot of money about an hour of time.
So, with time to kill, the players go to look for Lablanc, and manage to find the fiend incognito as a sombrero wearing old man. He is apprehended by the superhero and mall cop. He says he killed Damocles so that he could get his personal orbiting energy ball for a ritual to awaken the [crabmen]. It seems to be more of a lie than the truth, since they have seen no crabmen, so they take Lablanc into custody and lead him back into town, where a local [cooking contest] has broken out. Elton decides to try and win the contest by swiping key ingredients from other tables and making his own pie. Surprisingly, he wins, but just barely.
As the Players get close to the tailor's place, so that slick can pick up his new suit, Lablanc gets away, takes the newly made suit and puts it on. In doing so, the fabric grants [special effects/ SFX] and disappears in a flash of smoke.
Slick is seriously bummed at this point, but tries to get another suit made of the same fabric. The quality is not as high as the first suit, but it does work.
As the players look for clues, they see that a bit of fabric leads away from the scene and a single thread is leading them all over town. It is at this point that Shithawk finds his calling; the museum of fecal history, and the worlds largest collection of toilets anywhere in the universe. Shithawk achieves that perfect moment of balance and zen, and enters the last place that he will ever work. (in other words, the player had to leave, so this was the most opportune time to send Shithawk “down the toilet”)
the players bid a find farewell to Shithawk, and continue tracking down Lablanc via the thread. At this point, Slick is really angry because Lablanc is destroying the suit that Slick paid for with a gratuitous amount of money. Finally, they come across a large door with a sliding eye-port. It looks to be an old entrance to what might have been a speakeasy at one time or another. The large man behind the door lets the players in, though he has a ridiculously high voice for a man of his size. Slick tells the man to get a hold of “his people” because the goon might have a future in the Mega ForceBall universe.
The thread leads the players up a staircase and find themselves in an ornately decorated office building. The whole place is decked out in a feudal Japan theme, and there are two ornate doors in from of them. One is slightly ajar, so they venture forth into the inner office.
Lablanc stands there, a Katana slung over his shoulder. He smiles, then mockingly speaks to the players, and it occurs to the players that his speaking and his lips are completely out of sync, just like bad dubbing. As it turns out, Lablanc is the head of the Toho [Ninja Clan], and within seconds the room is filled with 40 ninjas, all with [great reflexes].
Slick tries to reason with Lablanc, telling him that he is outclassed, then tries to get the ninjas to turn on their master. Enrages, Lablanc throws a shuriken at Slick. Slick's player, spends tons of yum yums at this point to make the most spectacular catch by clenching the chinese star in his teeth, then pulls it out and flashes a glinting smile.
Instantly, the ninjas know who the true rules of the dreaded Toho Ninja Clan should be. They capture Lablanc and make Slick the new leader of the Toho. They award him a big gaudy medallion that show his new found status with uncharacteristically unnecessary bling.

The wrap up

With the baddie caught, they return to the main dock, then make Lablanc reverse the ritual that sent them here in the first place. In doing so, there is a large flash of light that blots out everything. Beyond that they see that a black door opens in the distance. The realize that they are dressed in normal everyday clothes, and all personal effects are gone.
They go through the black door to find that they are on a stage, in which there are pytotechnics flaming up, fake smoke generators, and curvy cuties showing them the correct way to go. There is a huge crowd cheering them, but then they find that Lablanc is standing on the other side of the stage, dressed like a gaudy gameshow host. He lets the players know that they have won fabulous prizes, though no one expected them to complete the tasks that they had been given. The players now realize that this has all been some sort of VR game show. Slick is disappointed to find out that his own personality had been overwritten by the game show Lablanc, because the ratings cant get enough of him.
As the players come to grasps with what just happened, Lablanc signs off saying the show's catch phrase:
“Remember, [Life's a game] on everybody's favorite game show, [99 ways to die!].

Obviously the end credits roll with the song of the same name by Megadeth. The feedback I received from this specific game session has been absolutely awesome. I thank all my players for making this one so memorable.

MK