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Characters At 125 points
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Tracking Down A Lead (Session 1)
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We joined our heroes at the beginning of the
Zombie Apocalypse vignette.
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GM's Note: I followed the set up for the vignette very closely; see the write up
for backdrop details. However, I did buff both Zombie Daile and Corpsey Ramone to
provide a more challenging encounter.
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Miles found the alerts of missing bodies from funeral homes and graveyards along
the Interstate 8 highway on the FBI accords web site, and did the correlation to
calculate that each incidence was roughly one days travel apart, heading west, and
that the next logical stopping point would be in Jamul, California or thereabouts.
Contacting the other Hunters, he rallied them to meet him in Jamul, and set out
in his sports car with Ebon. Jonas and Jon arrived independently.
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Arriving at a truck stop just off the main drag (such as it is) in Jamul, the intrepid
Hunters intercepted the Zombie Bus tour set up in the parking lot. Obviously connecting
missing bodies and a "Zombie Apocalypse" themed movie crew as being too much of
a coincidence, the Hunters put on their game faces and set about investigating.
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Observing both the locals and the colorful Zombie Apocalypse road crew, each of
the Hunters took a different tact. Ebon proved to be the most successful, using
a wide variety of skills and abilities to observe the Zombie Apocalypse crew and
their garish tractor trailer, even managing to get inside the back of the trailer
and rummaging through the crews personal effects. Therein Ebon found Zombie Daile's
movie makeup kit and observed that it appeared to be new and unused, and
finally observed Daile bringing back a herd of a dozen "movie extras made up as
zombies" into the back of the trailer. There was something odd about the "extras",
some kind of glamour, but Ebon could not quite penetrate it. Nevertheless the circumstantial
evidence was strong.
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Rallying in the diner, the group strategized, but were interrupted by another obvious
stranger in town entering the truck stop diner.
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The newcomer was a large cop-looking guy with a tough guy attitude. Entering the
diner, the newcomer picked out the Hunters as being obviously out of place and supiciously
proceeded to interrogate them. All of the supernaturals felt some kind of oppresive
leeching effect from the stranger's gaze, but Jon and Ebon were actually sickened
by it and Jonas felt his implants crawling. Miles felt it as a threat, but it had
no physiological effect on him.
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This did not go over well with either Jonas or Jon. Ebon tried to make himself small
and unnoticed. Miles rose to the challenge and used his legalese and presence to
control the situation and push back on the tough talking interloper. Frustrated,
the new guy retreated to a booth but continued to glower at the Hunters, making
the supernaturals increasingly uncomfortable, as if they couldn't breath. Ebon finally
fled the building, Jonas went to the bathroom, and Jon stubbornly tried to grit
it out but was finally forced to leave the diner also.
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While this was progressing, Miles took point and sat with the scary stranger, and
managed to smooth talk his way into some information. Miles found out that the stranger's
name is Jimmy Hunt, and that he was a former cop pursuing the member of the Zombie
Apocalypse road crew called "Zombie Daile", whom he had witnessed doing something
sinister at a funeral home outside of Dallas Texas, subsequently arrested (roughly).
Jimmy couldn't remember WHAT he saw her doing or WHY he arrested her, but he used
"excessive force", and she was released with no charges. Jimmy was suspended in
the aftermath. Jimmy is convinced that there is "something not right" about Daile
and has been following the tour for a few days trying to observe her doing something
illegal so that he can redeem himself.
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While outside, Ebon struck up a conversation with Zak Hack, and through the course
of a colorful and surreal conversation (neither Zak nor Ebon being strongly grounded
in conventional reality), Ebon convinced Zak that he was traveling with a movie
producer with buckets of money in search of a film to distribute...and cast Miles
in this role. Ebon then set Miles up with Zak, and Miles played along.
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Miles took control of the conversation and talked Zak into taking the Hunters out
with the Zombie Apocalypse road crew to shoot a sample seen on location at an abandoned
tool and die factory Zak had noticed on the way into town. Miles' plan was to get
the crew away from civilians, and then get to the bottom of things. Loading up in
the Zombie Apocalypse rig and Jon's pickup truck the motely crew headed over to
the factory.
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Arriving at the factory, the file crew commenced to getting ready to shoot a scene
as the afternoon started to close. In the hustle and bustle Jon Bregg attempted
to get Zombie Daile
alone to impress upon her that her actions were very close to an Accords violation,
under the auspices of having her "make him up as a zombie" for the shoot.
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However, Daile could tell that the group was supernatural, and panicked when the
werewolf got her alone in the back of the Zombie Bus trailer in order to attempt
a conversation or to force her hand. Daile attacked Jon with potent life-draining
magic that would have killed a normal man, but he wolfed out and his supernatural
resilience saved him. Jon retalliated and opened up a row of claw marks across Daile's
back as she fled the rear of the semi.
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She managed to sick
Corpsey Ramone and a bunch of zombies on Jon and got out of his reach.
Jonas saw the situation from a couple dozen meters away and started to approach,
but Daile Soul Whipped him, laying Jonas out hard, and sicked six more zombies on
him. Miles had acted fast when the situation began to devolve and attempted to get
the civilians out of the area, but Raven looked back and saw the prone form of Jonas
being chewed upon, and started screaming.
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Luckily for Jonas, his Ogre-skin alchemical enhancement made his flesh too tough
for the zombies to penetrate, and though his clothing was ruined he himself was
unharmed.
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Ebon was flying high above in raven form, keeping an eye on things; he swooped down
into the action and helped Jon behead Corpsey Ramone and another zombie. Jonas got
back up and was promptly dropped again by another Soul Whip, and Miles used one
of his spells to jump an amazing distance to return to the conflict, taking up a
commanding position on some convenient high ground.
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Seeing the situation turning against her, Daile chose to flee into the nearby abandoned
tool & die factory.
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GMs Note: The players got off to a slow-ish start, but nothing remarkable
for a first face to face session.
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WilyQ, the player of Miles, set out to play the campaign straight as a serious procedural.
The other three players were going for a more comic fast and loose tone. I let them
sort it out for themselves. In the end, WilyQ loosened up a little, and the other
players got a little more serious.
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I felt like the session was very succesful overall. Panpiper's Zombie Apocalypse
proved to be an excellent first adventure, simple and with several possible permutations.
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XP Awarded: the players tied on a vote for the players of Ebon and Jon for
Most Valuable Player. Rather than break the tie, I chose to award them both a MVP
point as I felt like both players had gone above and beyond
- Ebon: 4 +1 MVP
- Jon: 3 + 1 MVP
- Miles: 4
- Jonas: 4
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