♫"We should go for the abandoned church. Plenty of room, less expectations than a book shop."
Walk up to the orb and pick it up. Examine it and put it in my bag for safekeeping.
Use a point of Favor to increase my Endurance.
Name: Ailn
Appearance: Wrinkly, frail, and raggedy. She's actually not very old, and much faster than she looks, but certainly has an unhealthy look about her. Dark hair and eyes.
Backstory: Child of wealth, persistent illness, oddly unbreakable will. She left, of course. She doesn't see much use in money, though her family makes sure she has plenty of it. She'd like to be able to cure her illness, and maybe make some sense of this crazy world. Maybe going a little crazy will help, if that's what it takes.
Physical stats:
Strength: d6
Dexterity: d8
Speed: d8
Endurance: d4
Awareness: d6
Guile: d10
Knowledge: d6
Willpower: d12
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: d4
World Stats:
Connections: d4
Possessions: d8
Money: d12
Standing: d4
Inventory:
old messenger bag
coffee mug
pair of dice
key ring
notebook
pen
$900
You pick up the orb and examine it. It feels tingy to the touch, as though there's a very mild current running through it, and when you turn the engraved eye to face you, you get the feeling something is looking at you out of it. The ball itself feels like glazed ceramic and has a strange amount of heft to it. You put it in your bag.
You call out for help and feel your body change. Your skin grows thicker, more calloused, your sense of sensation grows more dull, the sharp edges of ache and pain taken off.
Go to my house, grab loads of sleeping bags and a microwave, and grab a frozen pizza.
Also, grab the large(super big!) rechargeable battery pack that's in my garage.
“I got the food!”
Edited
Name:Robert O’Conner
Appearance: a skinny, tall, 40 year old irishman with a scary expression.
Backstory: You see, I once was a promising historian, and I was also a pretty good pianist, if I say so myself. But then, I say a summoning. It changed my life! I realized, with that kind of power, nobody could stop you. nobody. NOBODY! A HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! erm. Yeah.
Physical stats:
Strength: d4
Dexterity: d8
Speed: d8
Endurance: d10
Awareness: d6
Guile: d6
Knowledge: d6
Willpower: d12
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: 0
World Stats:
possessions: 5
Money: 3
Connections:1
Standing: 1
Inventory:
12:
Car
all of the keys to loads of places
Chef knife
Pitcher
Phone(do these exist yet?)
Sleeping bag
A huge bag of chips
Pins/ small pointy objects
Empty journal
Pens and other writing utensils
Painting tools
A silver coin( that’s probably worth something)
Money: 700
[4]
You head home and start gathering food. You pull your old sleeping bags out of storage, you have 6 of them, 8 if you count the too small child sized ones you have from...somewhere. You pile them into the car before lugging your microwave in and setting it in the passenger seat, clipping the belt around it to keep it in place. Then you head out and check your garage for the battery. Its designed to provide power for camping and has a built in tire pump. Its not a generator and won't last long if used continuously, but as long as you turn it off and use it sparingly it should last for a while.
I'm with you on the bookstore lady; if she gets a lot of occult-seekers through her shop she should be useful for picking out potential new members. The nightclub I'm not sure on; it could be a good base in the city, though perhaps not what our patron has in mind for a main place of worship.
The church could be good, though the rumours of Satanists there could attract investigation from other parties. I'd be happy to go check it out, though. Anyone care to join me?"
Go to check out the church. Catch a bus if there are any going the right way; otherwise pick up my car (possessions roll?) and drive up.
Name: Alexander Sill
Appearance: A well-built man in his late thirties, who walks with a slight limp.
Backstory: A career soldier, though that career was brought to an abrupt end after the invasion of Grenada left him discharged with a shiny medal and a leg wound which will probably never fully heal. Since then he has struggled along, through a series of short-lived, dead-end jobs, searching for a new purpose in life. He now seems to have found one.
Physical stats:
Strength: d10
Dexterity: d8
Speed: d6
Endurance: d12
Awareness: d8
Guile: d6
Knowledge: d6
Willpower: d6
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favour: 0
World Stats:
Connections: d8
Possessions: d6
Money: d6
Standing: d8
Inventory: (2 items)
Toolbox, torch.
$500 cash
[5] You head back home, walking till you reach a bus stop and then taking it (-$3) back the rest of the way. Your car is where you left it, under a cover outside your home. You pull the cover off to reveal a jeep. Not one of those nambypamby civilian models but a honest to god military issue Kaiser Jeep M715 truck straight from somewhere in the second world war. You'd bought it off a military surplus dealer years ago and kept her in fine working order. You brush some dirt of the dark blue paint job you'd given it and hop in, gunning it out of the lot with a roar.
The drive to the church is uneventful but takes longer than you thought; the place isn't exactly easy to find or easy to get to. Once you see it though, standing like a faded monolith out in the waving yellow tall grass, you can't ignore it. You exit off the 101 and head out across access roads past carefully kept and irrigated farmland, squat houses, barns and empty space till you hit a dirt road and expanse of clearly untended land. The tall grasses and shrubs native to the area have retaken the abandoned property and partially obscured the old mission. Its a small church, its spire not more than two or maybe three stories at best with heavy white washed adobe walls and a similar perimeter fence, now overgrown with weeds and plants. An old tree that probably once provided shade in the courtyard of the building has grown wild and huge, shattering its concrete planter and sending roots out to overturn paving stones and gnarl the entry stairs. A thick coating of yellowed leaves covers the courtyard and there are graffiti tags on the outer wall of the church.
You park the Jeep outside the wall and wander in, crossing the courtyard to the wooden double doors. You have to shoulder your way in even though the door is partially open already. The church is an old style thing, nothing but a main room with a few smaller rooms in back for the priest. Those rooms are now empty of everything except leaves and some trash, evidence of past squatters. The main room is lined with tall but thin square windows down its length, a partially rotted and overgrown wooden floor and dozens of long wooden benches that must have served as pews. They're scattered about helterskelter now and the pulpit has been damaged by something and is twisted at an angle, only partially connected to the floor anymore.
"When I said that the nude club would be an asset, I meant that it would be useful for income, not as a base."
Head off to the old lady in her new age shop, if I haven't told her my name yet, introduce myself as Thomas Spencer and try to recruit her. Mention that our cult is still establishing itself and that our goal is to discover the secrets of the world.
Name: Richard Reed
Appearance: A well dressed man in his mid-twenties, he sports short brown hair and a well kempt mustache.
Backstory: Richard discovered the cult when one of his less prestigious connections informed him about otherwordly beings and of the knowledge these beings possess. Intent to learn this secret knowledge, he set out to join the cult.
Physical stats:
Strength: d4
Dexterity: d6
Speed: d6
Endurance: d6
Awareness: d8
Guile: d12
Knowledge: d10
Willpower: d8
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: d4
World Stats:
Connections: d12
Possessions: d4
Money: d6
Standing: d8
Inventory:
Notebook
Pen
Drawing of the sigil and the visions.
$397
You take the bus back into town (-$3) and head back to the Serpent, intent on bringing the old woman (what was her name again?) into the fold. You turn the corner onto the shop's street and immediately slow your pace. Outside the shop is a group of maybe a dozen men and woman, mostly women, with signs painted on large cardboard sheets. The signs say things like "The New Age Is The Path To Damnation!" and "Protect Your Children From The Occult!" and the protestors chant similar slogans. They seem to be picketing the shop, shouting at anyone who so much as walks past and shoving blue paper pamphlets into unwilling hands. You consider for a moment if it would be wise to walk into the shop, as things are. It would connect you to the occult in those protestor's minds, but with her shop under siege and her morality and world view questioned, this woman would be vulnerable. It might be the perfect time to secure her loyalty.
"Well, if you excuse me, I'll be checking out that nude club. Feel free to join me ladies." Lance says coyly, heading out the abandoned building.
Investigate "The Library" with anyone else who wants to follow. See how large the place is, if it's still open after the owner got arrested, and most importantly, what's the fee for admission?
Name: Lance Robbins
Appearance: Bruised and batter, a shaved head, a smile like a serial killer, he's nearly the text book definition of "thug"
Backstory: Lance grow up in household with lower expectations, and managed to not even reach that. He spent his years boozing, smoking, and brawling his time away. He overheard a drunk in the alley talking about type of "ritual thing" and decided to check it out. Not as if he has anything better to do with his life.
Physical stats:
Strength: d8
Dexterity: d12
Speed: d10
Endurance: d8
Awareness:d6
Guile: d6
Knowledge: d4
Willpower: d6
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: 1
World Stats:
Connections: d4
Possessions: d12
Money: d8
Standing: d4
Inventory: [Money roll: 1] [Possessions roll: 4]
$100 U.S dollars
Spanner
Flask of Alcohol
Carton of cigarettes
Zippo lighter
You take the bus (-$3) out to the "Library". Its actually not far from the abandoned building, up near a construction company, just off the main road. The place has a rented chainlink fence set up all around it with signs warning about trespassing; you can't even get into the parking lot. The building itself is squat and ugly as sin- rather fittingly maybe. Its solid black, with a stucco exterior that makes it look like a lumpy mess. A cloth awning sits over the door, also black, with an elaborate "THE LIBRARY" stenciled onto it in gold calligraphy. At the entrance to the parking lot is a concrete pillar with a big sign hanging off of it. The sign reads "GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS GORGEOUS LIBRARIANS" in red letters on a white background. The place reeks of skeeze and cheap immorality. And judging on the location, its the sort of place no one would call the cops when they hear strange noises.
"I've found my way into a job at the University as a librarian. I'll see whether or not it shows any promise as a source of information."
Spend a point of favor to increase Awareness.
Go to the university and work, while using my time there to also look for anything that would be of interest to us: occult or otherwise weird texts, building blueprints, mentions of cult activities (in newspaper archives), etc. Also keep an eye out to see if anyone has checked out or is interested in suspicious books.
Name: Thomas Melbourne
Appearance: A man in his late 60s. Well-kept beard, no mustache or sideburns. Balding, but without a ridiculous comb-over. He dresses conservatively.
Backstory: He came to this small town in the 1940s in an attempt to escape his fame. An early novel of his had found surprise success, and prevented him from living the comfortable life he had always envisioned. Now, 40 years later, his idle searching into the occult has lead him to the truth. He's already planning his next book.
Physical stats:
Strength: d6
Dexterity: d8
Speed: d4
Endurance: d6
Awareness: d10
Guile: d8
Knowledge: d12
Willpower: d6
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: d4
World Stats:
Connections: d4
Possessions: d4
Money: d10
Standing: d10
Inventory:
-Notebook
-Pen
-$10,000
You cry out to the Scholar and feel your mind grow sharper, your vision focus, and your comprehension of whats around you become acutely better.
[7]
You spend your time as librarian half focused on your work, half focused on searching, hiding your not so productive actions as best you can. You don't find anything really interesting in terms of the occult, but you do find a lot of newspaper stories from recent months detailing something called the "League for Christian Mothers" and its "Fight to eradicate any harmful occult influence on children". The leader is some woman named Diane Flemming, shown in pictures as a middle aged woman with hard gaunt features, frizzy blonde hair and oversized spectacles. You memorize the information about her and the league, figuring it might come in handy later. Eventually you'd be bound to butt heads.
Spend the point of favor on increasing Strength to d12, maxing it out as is only right and proper for a Street Fighter character.
Then accompany the others to the Church, and quietly case the place.
Name: Guile
Appearance: Guile Backstory: A former United States Air Force major who was forced to retire after uncovering deep corruption within the organization. He's since dedicated himself to exposing corruption and taking down criminal syndicates--which has left him with a staggering number of both allies and enemies, though even his enemies tend to have a healthy respect for his ruthless dedication and merciful nature. Recently, his family was murdered gruesomely
because syvarris doesn't want to bother with them because he had called police on several high-ranking members of an occult organization (after beating them senseless, as Guile is wont to do). Ever since he has been singlemindedly pursuing any hint of the occult, as a personal vendetta, which has left him homeless, penniless, and inventory-less. Of course, Guile has never needed anything more than his fists to fight the good fight.
Physical stats:Strength: d12 (+)
Dexterity: d6
Speed: d8
Endurance: d8
Awareness: d6
Guile: d12
Knowledge: d4
Willpower: d6
Occult stats:Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: 1-1=0
World Stats:Connections: d12
Possessions: 0
Money: 0
Standing: d12Inventory: His sonic fists are all he needs!
You ask silently for strength and feel it enter your body like a drug, your muscles growing taut and powerful.
You accompany Alexander to the church, riding shotgun.
Walton sighs.
"Look, if you're going to have a discussion about who gets to carry the orb for now I'm just going to join mister Still to check out the church."
Nip over to my house quickly and see if I can't grab a weapon I brought with me from Japan or 'Nam. Something that's not too hard to hide. Then join Alexander (tophat) in going to check out the church.
Name: Walton J. Murphy
Appearance: A man of 64 years old. Walton sports a bald head and a grey beard. Not as fit as he used to be. His body is marked with a variety of scars.
Backstory: Walton joined the military when he was 18 years old in 1939, just in time for WWII to ramp up. He has since served in the pacific theater in WWII, the Korean war, and the Vietnam war. It was in 'Nam where he was gravely wounded for the last time, effectively ending his military career. He currently works a desk job for the local government, a fact that does not particularely please him.
He's been in a world war, a cold war, a drug war and a gang war. Now, seeing the appalling amount of respect veterans get from younger generations, he's decided that he wants to add a holy war onto his résumé.
Physical stats: (list in order)
Strength: d4
Dexterity: d6
Speed: d6
Endurance: d6
Awareness: d8
Guile: d10
Knowledge: d8
Willpower: d12
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: 1
World Stats:
Connections: d8
Possessions: d8
Money: d4
Standing: d8
Inventory:
299$
Leatherman multitool
Notebook&Pen
Bicycle
Duct Tape.
[6]
You catch a ride with Alexander, stopping off at your house to pick up a weapon. You go with your Remington Model 870 “Riot” shotgun. Its sawn off barrel and pistol grip stock (a personal modification) make it easy to hide and easy to use close range. You make sure its loaded and throw a handful of rounds into your pocket before heading back to the car.
Once you reach the church you stay behind Alexander, leaving the exploration to him while you stay alert for threats. None show themselves.
"You have a point Sean," Alexis said as she prepared to accompany Helen to the university. "However, let's scout out these places, if only to keep our options open."
Accompany Helen to check out the other places. Use connections to smooth things out in the group's favor. Also, go home for a bit to cook food and clean the house for the husband.
Name: Alexis Ledbetter Cromwald
Appearance: Early thirties. Comely appearance and figure. Back-length curly blond hair. Coppery eyes. Wears an apron with pockets on the front.
Backstory: A former teacher who is the housewife of a domineering businessman, Alexis oftentimes fantasized about dealing with her husband Michael in brutal but creative ways. However, murder is social suicide in the age of improved forensics and profiling and divorce is out of the question as her husband provides her 'income' in the form of allowances. However, her chance encounter with the darkest mysteries of the world may very well give Alexis the power she craves... or it could send her plunging into a fate much worse than slaving to her idiotic brute of a husband.
Physical stats:
Strength: d4
Dexterity: d8
Speed: d6
Endurance: d6
Awareness: d8
Guile: d12
Knowledge: d10
Willpower: d6
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: 1
World Stats:
Connections: d10
Possessions: d6
Money: d4
Standing: d8
Inventory:
$200
Purse
Go to the University to check the space out. If asked say I'm representing a startup that's looking for a place where they could gather information and perhaps in the future test their products.
Is this place secure (locked doors, etc)?
Is this place discreet (no huge windows, no connected labs, etc)?
Can we come and go as we please? Or are there restrictions?
Is there equipment in the basement? Can we request access to more equipment? Would that cost extra?
What are the renting mechanics like? Roll every month?
Name: Helen Hywater, though she insists on calling herself "The Recorder" during cult related activities
Appearance: A young girl with short dark hair and green eyes. Tends to wear a dark brown trenchcoat and fedora during cult related activities to avoid suspicion.
Backstory: Has a fascination with recording stuff for posterity and specifically cameras. Makes her way through life doing odd jobs and videotaping things, sometimes things she probably shouldn't record. She's even managed to make some short films. She's a bit weird and she knows it but she doesn't care. As for why she's with the cult, she mostly just wants to record stuff and then sell them for fame and loads of momey. Maybe she can make the world's first real found footage film.
Physical stats:
Strength: d4
Dexterity: d6
Speed: d10
Endurance: d8
Awareness: d12
Guile: d8
Knowledge: d6
Willpower: d6
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: d4 (The Scholar in Red)
World Stats:
Connections: d10
Possessions: d4
Money: d4
Standing: d10
Inventory:
Clothes
A high-end handheld camcorder with flashlight and infrared nightvision capability
199$
Alexis and Helen take the bus (-$3) into town and stop by Alexis' house for an hour or so, taking the time to cook and clean enough to keep up Alexis' carefully maintained masquerade before heading to the university. Finding the science research lab annex is a bit difficult; they wander around for a while until they find the squat, single story building. It is differentiated from the other similarly squat and unassuming buildings only by the dozens of silver fume hood chimneys rising from the roof. The pair of women walk in, expecting to find a receptionist but instead just find an open room with hallways leading off in different directions. They follow signs to the administration rooms and spend several minutes talking with an old (and perhaps slightly senile) man who eventually understands that they're here to rent the space under the building and want to see it. He- in the midst of a sandwich- is loath to help them find it so he just gives them the key and points them the right way.
The key opens a stairway nearby that leads down a level, through a concrete double staircase and into a short hall that terminates in a pair of reverse pressure doors. The room beyond those doors is quite simple; its really two rooms partially separated in the center by a dividing wall with a 10 foot opening in the center. Both sides are symmetrical, about 20 feet wide and 30 feet long with 8 foot solid concrete ceilings. The floors and walls are tiled in white linoleum, and the floors are very slightly canted toward the center where a round metal drain sits, ready to accept spills. There are metal counters running along three walls of each room and the far room has a large fume hood on its back wall. There are electrical outlets evenly spaced along the length of the walls and several ventilation fans in the ceiling. The place is cool, very quiet, and isolated.
Try to use my connections to get information regarding the location of books about the occult or tomes that have sigils similar to the one of the Scholar in Red.
Name: Micolash Cage
Appearance: A man with messy curly black hair and an eternal grin on his face.
Backstory: He used to work as a librarian, in which he found a book about the occult, and decided to join a cult for fun and knowledge. Fascinated in learning and gaining insight of the world and the cosmos.
Physical stats:
Strength: d4
Dexterity: d6
Speed: d6
Endurance: d6
Awareness: d8
Guile: d8
Knowledge: d12
Willpower: d10
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: 1
World Stats:
Connections: d10
Possessions: d10
Money: d4
Standing: d4
Inventory:
$200
Notebook
Pen
Flashlight
[2]
You call (-$1) several people you know with their own connections to the occult. When you ask them about the scholar in red they seem not to know what you're talking about. You ask them to look into it but you get the distinct feeling they won't find anything. They seem...rather unwilling to help.
[connections -1 level]
IT IS NOON
Author
Topic: CULT (Read 71668 times)