Cyenobite Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 My day of running this is quickly approaching (This Saturday). I still have more to read (well re-read actually) - mostly regarding the dreamgate and part with the shack, but I'm fairly confident I have an overall grasp on the scenario at this point. I have two points that seem minor, but have been nagging at me in regards to storyline... 1) I'm not sure about the bridge getting washed out - There is the one showing on the map, but it seems too close to town. I can't quite put my finger on why this is bugging me... Maclearan house is outside of town by about 3 mile (if I recall). I guess that means the students would have to travel through town to get to the dig site. I might just have a second bridge that doesn't show on the map, so as to be vague about it. Apologies for not making my point clearly. I think it also has to do with my 2nd point... 2) I'm having a hard time finding the reasoning or motivation on why Blaine would want to leave the geology students during a horrible rain storm, just to make a phone call back to the house. I know my players, and I think this is going to raise a big red flag for them that *something* is going on. This kinda relates to my previous point about the Bridge... if the dig site is through town, over the bridge and several miles out, it doesn't seem likely that Blaine would walk back in the downpour all by himself. Assuming he already has brokered the deal with the Mi-go, then it really shouldn't matter if he were present or not. The Mi-go would presumably leave him alone, so as to get the other students. It just feels sort of "forced". Thanks! Link to comment
morganhua Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 (edited) 51 minutes ago, Cyenobite said: I have two points that seem minor, but have been nagging at me in regards to storyline... 1) I'm not sure about the bridge getting washed out - There is the one showing on the map, but it seems too close to town. I can't quite put my finger on why this is bugging me... Maclearan house is outside of town by about 3 mile (if I recall). I guess that means the students would have to travel through town to get to the dig site. I might just have a second bridge that doesn't show on the map, so as to be vague about it. Apologies for not making my point clearly. I think it also has to do with my 2nd point... 2) I'm having a hard time finding the reasoning or motivation on why Blaine would want to leave the geology students during a horrible rain storm, just to make a phone call back to the house. I know my players, and I think this is going to raise a big red flag for them that *something* is going on. This kinda relates to my previous point about the Bridge... if the dig site is through town, over the bridge and several miles out, it doesn't seem likely that Blaine would walk back in the downpour all by himself. Assuming he already has brokered the deal with the Mi-go, then it really shouldn't matter if he were present or not. The Mi-go would presumably leave him alone, so as to get the other students. It just feels sort of "forced". 1. The bridge isn't on the map. The map is the town map of Cobb's Corners. I think the bridge is far from Cobb's Corners. I told the players that to get to the dig sites and folklore homesteads they cross several bridges. The one that gets washed out is a random one. The Maclearan Farm is North of Cobb's Corners by 3 miles and I put the dig site and the other farms even further North, so they don't have to go through Cobb's Corners to get to the dig site. 2. It's supposed to make them suspicious. But he doesn't care because he thinks the Mi-Go will capture all of them. When I ran it, Blaine told them the rain is too much and he'll just pop over to one of the farms he knows is nearby to call and see if the other students have returned to the Maclearan Farmhouse and he'll be back in a few shakes. I stayed with the PCs in the truck until they decide to move on. They did visit a few farmhouses looking for Blaine and didn't find him. Then I cut to the Maclearan Farmhouse. When he shows up at the Maclearan Farmhouse, he just tells the other PCs that he got lost in the rain. Couldn't find the truck and worked his way back to the farmhouse. Also very suspicious. I then had the Sheriff show up and announce, "There's been an accident and I need your help." Then I cut to the truck crossing the bridge and the washout. But you're right, if this campaign sees print, these details need to be specified for clarification. The locations of stuff got more clear to me once I realized that the Maclearan Farm was north of Cobb's Corners, but I had read the map more carefully to figure this out. At first I did think the bridge on the North East corner of Cobb's Corner was the one washed out, but it seemed too close to the town and didn't match the text description as that bridge crossed a different river. Edited April 28, 2016 by morganhua Link to comment
Cyenobite Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Thanks @morganhua Top of page 49, it says. "nearby residents hear the bridge collapse..." - I think I just assumed this meant the towns people of Cobb's corner, but I guess it doesn't have to be. It could just be another nearby farmhouse. And I like how you handled the part about Blaine gone missing for that period of time. Link to comment
morganhua Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 (edited) Yeah, I just had a few random nearby farm people stand around when the sheriff shows up with the other PCs as they try to attach and pull out the truck from the river. I also explained that it was one of the farm people that had called the sheriff. I did deliberately blow Blaine's cover late in the scenario when he called out to two NPCs to help him outside the Maclearan Farmhouse. The Mi-Go spore gunned the two NPCs and Blaine shouted for help from the remaining NPC and a PC. One of the PCs looked out the farmhouse window and I let him do a spot hidden. He made an extreme success, so I let him see the two fallen NPCs and I tell him that Blaine is just standing outside in the rain. "It looks a bit strange to you as he's just standing there, he seems calm as he's calling for help." I did this because the PCs were supposed to survive. Of course, the PCs barricaded themselves in the house, so I had the remaining NPC run out the back door into the woods, as a hint, but the PCs didn't go for it. I finally had to start freezing the house and threaten to give them frostbite before they came with a plan to escape. They wound up leaving one PC behind to be captured* as the rest escaped. I let them use one of the cars even though they should have been disabled, otherwise I think none of the PCs would have escaped. In my game, 3 out of 6 PCs escaped (2 were captured at the dig site, 1 captured at the farmhouse, 3 escaped from the farmhouse). Unfortunately, they set the farmhouse on fire as part of their plan. So, I've been looking up laws about arson in 1930. I think they're going to be in deep trouble in Episode 2. *The PC actually failed to dodge a cold area and fell unconscious from cold damage while running for the car. When the other 3 PCs reached the car and started it up, they noticed they were missing a PC, but drove away anyway, abandoning the PC. So it wasn't as deliberate as it seems in that short description; they didn't leave a PC behind as bait. Edited April 28, 2016 by morganhua Link to comment
Cyenobite Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Nice! 3 out of 6! Yikes! I like how you handled that. I'm imagining that old psychology test they did where an animal kept in captivity is faced with an open door and they just stay in their cage. I laughed too, that they felt the need to burn the house down - typical PC reaction to most Cthulhu scenarios. Should we ever play a game together Morg, I will remember to just RUN! Link to comment
mibagents Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 Ok moving this question here from the thread I started as I now see the error of my ways. How does Michael Abelard know about the Mi-Go? It might not matter to running the adventure but it's something that sticks out to me. If he knows about them, and knows they have some involvement with mining, then he could possibly have spoiler information for the PC's. Link to comment
Mike M Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 Ablelard's backstory is more detailed in a later episode, he doesn't play any role personally in Episode 1 and doesn't send info to the PCs. Link to comment
Baniak Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 On 27.04.2016 at 1:31 AM, jajagappa said: If you want authenticity, most New England towns do not have mayors. Instead they have an annual town meeting where all citizens can come, raise issues, and vote on the issues. It usually includes election of the town board members (selectmen) who handle administrative tasks, town clerk, and whatever other officials are need. Thank you, that explains a lot. Cause in my session, players after talking to all the townfolk came up with an idea: The most responsible for the whole thing is definately THE MAYOR (they didnt even see him)! And I got consufed, where is the mayor? Who runs the town. But now I can sleep well, thanks jajagappa. Link to comment
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