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Author Topic: The Ballad of "Pianola" Ambrose  (Read 15295 times)

Yoink

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Re: The Ballad of "Pianola" Ambrose
« Reply #45 on: July 30, 2012, 08:13:00 am »

Inform Pianola of my intent to join up
[6]You nod your head confidently. "Well, I heard you were back in town, so I headed over here to join up. When do I start?"
He raises an eyebrow at you eagerness, saying nothing for now as he listens to the others.
Tell Pianola we're all here to form his new gang.
[6]"Matter-of-fact," You say, leaning coolly against the bar, "That's why we're all here, Ambrose. I heard you were trying to round up a gang, well, you're lookin' at it."
"Is that right, huh?" He looks about to say more, when Aerie pipes up.
Explain reason for coming here.
Which reason? Your stalkerish obession with a violent, death-defying, outlaw bank robber? ???

Quote
Introduce self and others which I may know.
"Well Mister Ambrose, I'm Aerie Rivian, it is an honour to meet you!"
Still seated, you extend a hand which he shakes.
"And um, that big fellow over there is Clayton, of course, and this is..."
[4]Squinting at the filthy figure who just crawled out from under the bar, "Jacob," you look at the dashing, dark-skinned fellow with the moustache, [3] "Erm, not sure, and..." [6] "...Of course, Uncle Jeremiah."
You nod towards the big, bearded figure of your estranged Uncle Jeremiah, who partly inspired you to come here.

Everyone: After you've all said your piece, "Pianola" Ambrose looks between each of you, his annoyed, wary frown replaced by a bemused expression, which itself is eventually replaced by a slow grin. This grin turns into a chuckle, and he looks towards the menacing figure of Lou, good humour sparkling in his eyes.
"Well well, what a turn up, hey Lou?" The latter is still eyeing you suspiciously, but Ambrose is amused. "We got ourselves a hardened gang of criminals, right here! What next, shall we go hit Allen & Co's Jewlers uptown? The Grand National? How 'bout we just march on into the mayor's office and steal him?"

The tall, weathered fellow laughs loudly, a surprisingly cheerful sound, a smile twisting the scar tissue covering his cheek.
"Well, come on, we can't discuss business out here," He smirks, leaning across the bar to take a bottle of scotch, "Let's head back to my office, you lot. We'll have ourselves a good and proper job interview, how about that."
His tone seems rather condescending as he turns and heads back towards the door he came through, expecting you guys to follow, but that's a bit better than outright anger, right? Lou continues to keep a close eye on you as he follows his Boss.

Quote
Apologize sweetly to the bartender.
[6]As Ambrose turns to go, you stand up and look towards the poor lad behind the bar, giving him your best apologetic smile and mouthing the words "I'm sorry!"
You watch as the poor guy's heart melts like an ice-cream sundae in an oven, and he smiles shyly and waves away your apology with an embarassed hand, before nodding towards Ambrose's door.
Oh, boy... Now it looks like he's smitten with you. Why couldn't someone like, say, Ambrose be won over that easily?! Sheesh.



So, the great "Pianola" Ambrose has seemingly forgiven you lot for trashing his favourite dive, and has invited you to join him back in his office. He has a couple of tables in there, his desk, and a bunch of chairs. He's in his own armchair, naturally, though he pours each of you a drink before he has a seat.
Time to convince him to hire you. It doesn't look like he really has a heap of potential applicants, however- most of those shady types out in the common room seemed to be unaffiliated with him. Lou's the one exception you've seen.

Just what do you bring to the table...?

Spoiler: Notes (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: July 30, 2012, 08:24:25 am by Yoink »
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Tiruin

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Re: The Ballad of "Pianola" Ambrose
« Reply #46 on: July 30, 2012, 08:37:56 am »

Spoiler: Notes (click to show/hide)
((It all depends with Uncle Jeremiah if he wants me or not.  :P
Also, don't apologize Yoink! Your turn is fun turn!))

Aerie sat down and took the glass offered to her with a smile - though not drinking any of it, only to raise it as a gesture of thanks. She admired the place, a simplistic room with a minimalist design.

It was truly fitting of an outlaw, using the barest of resources to make a living, and live well while doing so.

Yet she waits for anyone else to speak up, because: manners.
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NRDL

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Re: The Ballad of "Pianola" Ambrose
« Reply #47 on: July 31, 2012, 01:50:26 am »

Sorry, too busy for this game.  I'm out.
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wolfchild

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Re: The Ballad of "Pianola" Ambrose
« Reply #48 on: July 31, 2012, 02:25:13 am »

Unless asked for his opinion, Jacob stays silent, wanting to figure out how the group will work before chiming in
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Tiruin

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Re: The Ballad of "Pianola" Ambrose
« Reply #49 on: July 31, 2012, 03:54:27 am »

Sorry, too busy for this game.  I'm out.

My Uncle will now die of a heart attack! D:
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Spinal_Taper

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Re: The Ballad of "Pianola" Ambrose
« Reply #50 on: July 31, 2012, 04:25:49 am »

Sorry, too busy for this game.  I'm out.

My Uncle will now die of a heart attack! D:
((Now, an Irishman will fill the void.))
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Yoink

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Re: The Ballad of "Pianola" Ambrose
« Reply #51 on: July 31, 2012, 04:51:28 am »

You can be a long-lost second cousion. [/kidding]
Also, that's alright, NRDL. Sorry I couldn't keep you interested! :-\
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Booze is Life for Yoink

To deprive him of Drink is to steal divinity from God.
you need to reconsider your life
If there's any cause worth dying for, it's memes.

TCM

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Re: The Ballad of "Pianola" Ambrose
« Reply #52 on: August 01, 2012, 12:13:08 pm »

Explain my experience, smuggling, smooth talking, and my deadliness with all Asia related objects and concepts.
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Yoink

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Re: The Ballad of "Pianola" Ambrose
« Reply #53 on: August 01, 2012, 07:01:44 pm »

I think I will wait a little longer just incase SodaOrange wants to post. [/lazy]

So that I don't end up forgetting to post altogether, I set an alarm for half-past three this afternoon. :P
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Booze is Life for Yoink

To deprive him of Drink is to steal divinity from God.
you need to reconsider your life
If there's any cause worth dying for, it's memes.

Yoink

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Re: The Ballad of "Pianola" Ambrose
« Reply #54 on: August 04, 2012, 05:31:07 am »

Yet she waits for anyone else to speak up, because: manners.
Unless asked for his opinion, Jacob stays silent, wanting to figure out how the group will work before chiming in
Quote from: Auto Clayton
>Head on in there and take a seat.
>Say nothing. Look vaguely menacing.
Explain my experience, smuggling, smooth talking, and my deadliness with all Asia related objects and concepts.

No-one speaks up for a while once you're all seated with drinks, and for a long moment the only sound is that of Elixas shuffling through what appears to be a wad of palmcards. Eventually the awkward silence is broken when Jeremiah Nix gets to his feet, looking sheepish.
"I... You know, Mister Ambrose, on second thoughts, I don't know I'm rightly cut-out for a life of crime. I... Might get going, if that's alright."
"Pianola" Ambrose simply nods his head magnaminously. "No hard feelings." He raises his glass towards the man and says, "Here's to a man with more sense than some, eh?" He shares a lazy grin with the room as Nix says goodbye to Aerie(apparently they know each other?) before shuffling out.

Aerie feels a bit embarassed as her mysterious, big-bearded uncle hugs her goodbye and tells her to be careful, and even more so as she feels a few tears threatening to fill her eyes as the door closes behind him, but thankfully at that moment Elixas, [4]apparently sufficiently prepared, stands up. He leans one shoulder casually against a wall as he pauses for effect before launching into a long-winded, self-centred spiel on his many talents, ranging from running contraband, to talking his way in and out of sticky situations, to killing people with anything from sharp metal objects to 5/7/5 syllable poems. He pauses briefly, either for effect or, more likely, to take a breath, and continues on and on about his various no-doubt-exaggerated exploits, travels about the world, his amorous relationships with beautiful women of half-a-dozen nationalities, his globe-spanning criminal empire, his--

To the relief of his bored enthralled listeners, Ambrose cuts him off with a raised hand, chuckling softly.
"Whoah there, 'storytime'! Mind telling us for a third time about that one fella you killed with a paper crane?" Elixas opens his mouth to do so, then stops as Ambrose facepalms. "I was joking. Please, do shut up." Mildly chastened(only mildly, of course; this is Elixas we're talking about), Elixas resumes his seat.

Ambrose looks about the room at each of you thoughtfully. He seems to be considering just what to say to this mis-matched bunch of aspiring bandits who have fallen into his lap when there is a knock at the door. He nods to Lou, who opens it, and the bartender pokes his head inside.
"Sorry to interrupt, Mister Ambrose, but there's a young feller here to see you? Apparently it was O'Dolan's idea?" Ambrose thinks for a moment, then nods in comprehension. "Oh right, yes, he did mention something about that. Well, send him in," He flashes his grin again, gesturing to the folks seated about the room, "The more the merrier, right?"

The boy nods and a moment later a tall, rangy man is ushered in, stepping awkwardly through the door and tipping a nod to those assembled, a wide-brimmed fedora pulled down low on his head. Ambrose returns the nod, but before he can offer the newcomer a seat he [4] lets loose with a rapid-fire, Irish accented chatter, speaking quickly (well, more quickly than average even for an Irish) out of apparent nervousness.

"Name is McBurney," the fellow began, with a slightly forced smile, "I've got a hand with fire an' distractions. You take me on and I'll make sure that nobody is lookin' to you when your work goes down." Ambrose, looking bemused, nods slowly and starts to speak, but the new man isn't finished yet. "Shite and onions, you give me the tools and the opportunity and I'll make sure nobody even knows what it was they were seein'."

"Right right, have a seat, McBurney," Ambrose finally manages to get a word in, waving yet another eager aspiring crook to a seat before leaning on his desk for a moment, massaging his temples. [d100=46] Clayton hears him say something under his breath about "a freakin' job fair," followed by something to do with "goddamn daycare centre I'm running here," and  then he regains his comppsure, getting to his feet and gesturing to his room-full of job applicants.

"Well, you all seem fairly promising, you've got, ah, potential," It's rather hard to tell whether he's serious or just being patronizing as he heads over to another small door, not the one to the common room but a different one, "But since I'm running a rather elite outfit here, we're going to need to see just what you lot are capable of, hey?"
He opens the door and slips through, leaving you guys in Lou's care for a moment. Through the door you can catch a brief glimpse of green-felt tables, stacks of coloured plastic chips and folks staring at each other above the backs of playing cards, and then Ambrose is back, accompanied by a short, grizzled-looking hispanic fellow wearing aviator sunglasses. He does not look at all pleased to be here.

"Now folks, this here is Manuel. Don't be put off by his attitude, he's one of the best deadeye shots either side of the border and luckily for you, he has kindly agreed to show you a thing or two about firearms."
'Manuel' nods and Ambrose leaves him standing stiffly by the door and heads back over to his desk, fidgeting with the bottle of scotch for a brief moment before instead picking up his glass of water and downing it. He raises his eyebrows.

"Questions?" He allows about half-a-second for any questions before ushering you all back out into the common room, along with the recalcitrant Manuel, who leads the way out front. A rather annoyed-looking doorman approaches Elixas as they pass the latter's P.O.S car on the street, but Manuel simply shoots the man a look and he rather quickly backs off.
Apparently the old greaser's a known hardcase.

He leads your little band around into the parking lot, to where a silver Oldsmobile sedan is parked. Not bothering to explain where the hell you're going, he unlocks the doors and sits motionless in the passenger seat, silently waiting for you to get in and drive.
You hope Ambrose's faith in this guy is justified.

Who's driving...? I hope none of you mugs get carsick.



A warm welcome to Draignean/McBurney!


Alias gained! Elixas "Storytime" Roxine! Effect: +1 to bullshitting.

Quote from: Wolfchild/Jacob Greyson
>Figure out how the group will work
[5] Hmm, well. That Elixas guy seems like he could talk under wet cement, if you run out of bullets and need someone talked to death, he'd be your man. The big fellow, Clayton, well, you're not sure if he's good at anything, but there's no doubting he's made of muscle. He'll probably end up carrying the haul, if nothing else. Aerie? Well... She seems like a bit of a ditz, but she's not too bad looking so you can forgive her. The new guy you're not too sure about. He acts like some kinda pro, but you get the feeling he's talking himself up a bit. Still, you're sure he'll be good for something.
As for yourself, well, you think of yourself as quite the smooth-talker. You've never used a gun, but you're usually good at keeping your cool.

Quote from: Draignean/McBurney
Well, that could've gone better... But then again, it could've gone far worse.
Jeremy O'Dolan, one of the O'Dolan boys and an family friend who you hadn't seen in years, was the one who made this whole appointment. You're a bit surprised at seeing "Pianola" Ambrose in the Flesh. Guy's a legend; you (along with most everyone else) thought he was long dead. You weren't sure if Jeremy was even serious about this, but apparently he was, and here you are. Whoah.
Also, some big guy with a beard stormed out a little while before you went in. Not sure what that was about.

Spoiler: Notes (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: August 04, 2012, 05:39:26 am by Yoink »
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Booze is Life for Yoink

To deprive him of Drink is to steal divinity from God.
you need to reconsider your life
If there's any cause worth dying for, it's memes.

wolfchild

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Re: The Ballad of "Pianola" Ambrose
« Reply #55 on: August 04, 2012, 06:00:36 am »

Listen to the firearms trainin' could save me in a pinch
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Tiruin

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Re: The Ballad of "Pianola" Ambrose
« Reply #56 on: August 04, 2012, 06:03:13 am »

((Railroad-y? There are railroads in that time, duh.  :P

Also, PM'd Draignean yet? He'd enjoy this.))
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Draignean

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Re: The Ballad of "Pianola" Ambrose
« Reply #57 on: August 04, 2012, 11:13:11 am »

"I'm drivin'," McBurney said excitedly as he rushed for the driver's seat. He'd never had a lot of opportunity to use a car in the past, too expensive and mostly unnecessary for him, but now seemed as good a time as any to learn. He knew the wheel steered, the pedals controlled speed, and the floor lever had something else to do with speed.
It might be a little complicated, but as long as he listened to Manuel for directions, what could go wrong?

Drive the vehicle, follow Manuel's directions. If Manuel doesn't give directions, well, then just drive around until he tells me to stop. If something gets in my way, turn.
 
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Tiruin

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Re: The Ballad of "Pianola" Ambrose
« Reply #58 on: August 07, 2012, 11:34:51 pm »

"So..."

Aerie sat comfortably in the empty seat, minding the landscape and the others.

"Could you show us how to shoot on horseback?"

Listen in to the Deadeye, try to note down how he holds his gun if he's demonstrating.
« Last Edit: August 07, 2012, 11:39:20 pm by Tiruin »
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TCM

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Re: The Ballad of "Pianola" Ambrose
« Reply #59 on: August 08, 2012, 09:49:45 pm »

Sorry!

Get into car and listen to firearms guy.
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