Session name:The Darkest Night
Session type:Con one-off
Game system:Call of Cthulhu
Number of players: 5+GM
Play resumè:The backstory: Our heroes are actors in a TV show called The Darkest Night. The lead role is Roman Drazyc, a vampire now working in service of the cause of good. Along with four helpers he travels the world saving the day. The show is in its third season, and the producer has a great idea for the season finale. A childhood friend of his owns an island with a old castle that has recently been refurbished and restored to serve as a hotel.
At the hotel, the cast will perform a ritual to bring a close friend of Roman's back to life, after he was murdered in the second to last show of the season. The result of the ritual is slated to be the first episode of season four.
The protagonists arrive at the island after a two-hour boatride and are taken to the hotel which is at the top of a cliff. The producer introduces them to Steven McKinley, the manager and owner of the hotel. They have lunch, after which the producer says that he and the crew need to prepare for the ritual scene, and that they should all meet in the hall at five o'clock.
At five o'clock, they meet in the hall, from where they are taken down to the basement. They arrive in a room which is dimly lit, with a lot of candles and a few spotlights so that there is enough light for the cameras. On the floor a pentagram with a lot of occult symbols is painted in blood, and the actors are given knives and latex fingertips filled with blood to pierce at the appropriate time in the ritual.
They perform the ritual, and when they cut their fingers, the knives prove to be a lot sharper than anticipated, and the protagonists pierce their skin, drawing blood. When the drops of blood hit the floor, a gust of wind blows through the room, extinguishing the lights. The spotlights go out for a moment, and when they come back on, the producer, Harry, smiles happily.
He seems very happy with the performance, and says that he and his wife, Diana, look forward to seeing them all at dinner at seven. When they meet for dinner, Diana isn't there, and Harry says that she isn't feeling well. One of the cameraguys is unwell as well, but everyone else is there. Dinner is uneventful, other than the fact that the soundguy retires with a queasy stomach about halfway through.
During the course of the night, a storm starts blowing, and keeps blowing throughout the rest of the adventure.
The next morning, the only ones showing up for breakfast are Harry and four of the actors. The rest of the crew are ill. Harry laughs nervously, but assures them that everything is well. Due to the weather, they are unable to step outside the hotel, and retire to their rooms. When they meet for lunch, Harry is missing too, and no-one answers the door.
Robert, who plays Roman, decides to see if the hotel shop has anything useful. The door being locked, he decides to crash through it with his shoulder, with the result that he pinches a nerve, leaving his right arm useless for the remainder of the adventure.
Robert seeks out the rest of the party, and they decide to go to the manager's office. On the way, Luc, who plays the beefcake of the show, grabs a halberd, and tosses a sword to Robert. When they pass Harry and Diana's room, the door creak open, showing Diana gnawing on her husband's innards. She looks up at them, and attacks with impressive speed.
After a brief scuffle, the party overpowers Diana, and continues towards the manager's office. On the way, they encounter Megan, their colleague who didn't show up for breakfast. She attacks them, but and pushes them almost all the way back to Harry and Diana's room before they overpower her too.
In the manager's office, they find a book, telling the story of the island. It turns out that the last lord of the island was called Azaol. He lived in the 16th century, and had a reputation for having a hankering for the occult. Rumours had it that he made a deal with the devil to get more power. At any rate, he terrorised the village, and after a while, the villagers tire.
The villagers attack the castle, kill Azaol and bury him in the basement. Even so, their troubles continue, and after three failed harvests in a row, they abandon the island. In the back cover of the book, they find a hidden document, detailing how to stop Azaol.
On the manager's computer, they find a file called Azaol, which details the ritual, though with a different translation than the script they were given had.
They head to the basement, where they find the manager, who looks at them with empty eye sockets. He stands in the middle of the pentagram, which looks like it's shining. After attacking him a few times, they pour liqour on the floor, lighting it on fire. The fire blazes for a little while, and then a gust of wind pushes the flames out of the room, into the hallway where the protagonists are standing, dealing damage to all of them.
Robert freaks out and runs up the stairs, only to be met by one of the crew, who attacks him, killing him instantly. At this point, Luc sacrifices himself, to stop Azaol and save the others.
Luckily for the two remaining actors, Heather and George, he succeeds, and they survive without further incident.
Session name: Rachel West's Vengeance
Session type: Con One-off
Game system: Call of Cthulhu
Number of players: 5+GM
Play resumè:Our five protagonists receive a letter each, telling them to report to the offices of Mr. Samuel Jones, Attorney at Law, in Green Town for the execution of the last will and testament of a Mrs. Smith. All of them being in some kind of money trouble, they arrive at his offices, where they are informed that they will need to spend three nights on the island where Mrs. Smith lived in order to claim the inheritance.
All five acquiesce, and they are taken to the island (from which they have no cell phone reception). On the island is a house, with a garden and a huge shrubbery of torn bushes. The house is two stories tall, with a small kitchen, living room and toilet on the ground floor, and two bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor. There is a small cellar with a power generator and shelves.
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All of the protagonists have nightmares during the first night, two of them (Marco and Rico Alvarez) dream that they are being drowned, one (Vince Travis) that he is digging his own grave, one (Kimberley Jones) that she falls backwards and hits her head, and the last (Stephanie McCoy) that she is at a party, drinking something and then falls asleep.
They are awoken by the screams of Kimberley, who has locked herself in the bathroom. Stephanie shoots out the lock, grazing Kimberley in the arm.
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As the day progresses, the weather takes a turn for the worse. Vince has found some old newspaper clippings, talking about the death of three girls, all named Rachel West. He remembers one of the episodes, as it happened at a party he attended. Stephanie, meanwhile, has found a newspaper clipping about a girl called Rachel West, marrying a millionaire called John Smith some forty years ago.
Later on, they start hearing creaks in the doors, someone walking in the stairs, and the sound of running water from the tap. Whenever they look to see, they see no one.
In the afternoon, Marco goes into the back yard, noting five moss-covered stones. He scrapes away the moss, and finds five names, all of them with two dates each:
Tina Stanford 17.03.1978 – 30.06.2005
Stepanie McCoy 11.08.1975 – 30.06.2005
Vince Travis 05.01.1975 – 30.06.2005
Rico Alvarez 17.04.1972 – 30.06.2005
Marco Alvarez 17.04.1972 – 30.06.2005
Towards the end of the day, tensions are mounting, and the protagonists go to bed late, no one wanting to be the first to go to sleep.
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All of the players have nightmares during the night, the same nightmares they had the night before, only more vivid and life-like. The protagonists wake up in various places; Vince is outside the house, by the stones, with a shovel in hand; Marco and Rico are outside the house on the other side, Kimberley find herself in the stairs, catching herself as she's falling, while Stephanie is found in her bed, having to be shaken awake.
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Although I could continue on, I won't as that would spoil the scenario for future players. What I can tell you, is how the protagonists died...
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- Marco and Rico walked into the river surrounding the island
- Stephanie fell asleep inside the clearing inside the shrubbery
- Kimberley fell down the stairs, cracking her skull open
- Vince died after first digging his own grave, then burying himself in it
Session name: Into the Black
Session type: Con One-off
Game system: Serenity RPG/Cortex System
Number of players: 7+GM
About the script:Into the Black was written for the launch of Serenity RPG in 2005.
Play resumè: Our Heroes (Mal, Zoe, Wash, Simon, Jayne, Kaylee and Inara) have just delivered a shipment of dogs to Whitefall, and are hard pushed for spare parts and fuel. As luck would have it, Roland A. Sharpe (Fmr. Admiral, Independent Fleet), is on moon, looking for a crew to help him. He has his former aide-de-camp, Saul Potter, recruit our heroes for a transpo-mission to Bellerophon, promising them a hefty payment (enough to clear their debts) and five drums of fuel for the job.
They accept the job, knowing that Patience has probably got wind of them being there, and go to pick up the fuel. Somehow, though, the man who Saul Potter had agreed with about the fuel, has not informed anyone else, and as they finish loading the fuel, some folks start shootin'.
Getting off Whitefall in a hurry, our heroes head toward Bellerophon. On the way, Simon is called in to consult on "mr. James'" lung condition. He recognises his face from the Cortex Warrant Notice, but reveals nothing, helping his patient instead, as his training has taught him.
As they approach Bellerophon, Saul Potter has everyone assemble in the dining area. Jerome, his strong man, is notably absent. "Mr. James" enters the room, and is immediately recognised as Admiral Sharpe. Saul Potter tells everyone that they need to change course. He tries appealing to their patriotism, then paying them. In the end he has to turn to blackmail, and thell them that Jerome has "the girl" (River, who has been sedated for a while) in the sick bay, and if they do as they are told, she will not be harmed.
They change course to Pegasus, a moon of Bellerophon, where the "Freedom's Glory", the flag ship of the independents during the war, awaits dismantling. Through a series of trials, they get into the Processing Plant (run by Blue Sun), and get into the Glory. Kaylee manages to make her run, and they get off planet, almost without a hitch.
Three weeks later our heroes receive a package from Adm. Sharpe, containing 3000 Alliance Credits worth of Platinum.
Notes on the script: The script is intended for seven players, but that didn't work too well. Inara, especially, was left out, with not a lot to do. Simon had some work some of the time, but otherwise was also loose flesh. The module is probably better off with five players, leaving Inara and Simon as NPCs.