Unknown Armies: Throw a Penny

Lori ran "Throw a Penny", an Unknown Armies game where all of the PCs were associated with Detectives Unlimited

Lori Piper -- GM
Me -- Kyle Selina, an actor with a pretty face. Head of the agency.
Leslie Stroskey -- Spike, teenage computer whiz. Fired once by Kyle,
who had to rehire him the next day when all of the computers started
flashing "SUCKER".
Mark Stroskey -- Alan Sykes, forensics man who had to leave the police
force because of his temper.
Maria Trewe -- Meaghan McTavish, former PI, now working for the agency
Jacob Trewe -- Matty McTavish, Meaghan's father, respected cop who retired,
and who doesn't take handouts from anyone, so he's not working for Kyle. He
can be hired by Detectives Unlimited as a consultant, because that's Completely
Different.
Julian Lighton -- Gabrielle Duncan, Meaghan's niece and Matty's granddaughter,
delicate psychic still recovering from what she was psychically exposed to during
an earlier adventure.

Lori Piper explained that she was from the Todd Furler school of gming, which was a good sign to begin with. And, Todd had made an improvement to his style.

In UA, when one blows a Stress Check, the player has to decide whether the character Flees, Fights, or Freezes. Todd was already making foldover nametags that sat on the table identifying everyone by name, and with a picture -- and often, with a few first impressions about the character. This year, he had smaller colored tents that could sit on top of the nametags -- blue, yellow, and red (for pink values of red).

Julian: Let me guess. "Flee" is yellow.

He was correct. "Freeze" was blue, and "Fight" was red. It is telling that my reaction was, "Oh wow! He got better! He got even better! Wow!" and Todd's reaction was, "I don't believe it took me so many years to figure out this obvious improvement!"

GM: We have a prop department, and I pay them very well. So, if you need something, assume it's there.

NPCs included:

Ken Dierdorf, our richest and most frequent client. Kyle worried about this, wondering when Ken would want something in return for his patronage. Ken was running for mayor, against the popular incumbent and a couple of other candidates. Of course, he was only polling 3%.

Kate Dierdorf, Ken's wife and longtime friend of Kyle. No, they aren't having an affair. At least, not yet.

Johnny Goodfellow, the incumbent mayor, running for reelection

The scene opened on a boardroom in Mexico. Detectives Unlimited had been thrown an easy case by Ken, retrieving a rich man's daughter who had fallen in with a bad crowd. Her father, Senor Perez, was very pleased, and gave Kyle a "small bonus". Lori handed me the following:

Senor Perez has just handed you a check for $100,000. What do you do?

I'm not sure I was actually intended to do anything other than what I did -- gape in utter disbelief.

Senor Perez gave yet more tokens of his esteem -- replica necklaces of some Mayan jewelry. These were the ugliest things the agency people had ever seen.

Cut to the airport, where all of the PCs ditched their necklaces in the trash.

Spike: Hey, not me! This is the coolest thing ever!

Well, all of the PCs except Spike.

So, everyone returned to the USA. Lori gave us all handouts explaining how our morning had been so far.

Kyle was not having a great morning. Alan was banging on something downstairs, the new receptionist didn't know how to answer phones, and Marge, the old receptionist was back for her "monthly retirement check", threatening to come back to work if she didn't get it. She had needs, after all -- medicine and the like.

Kyle: I think I'm getting a migraine.

Marge: Well, I could give you some medicine for that, except I can't afford to get my medicine because I never got the check.

Kyle assured her that the check was in the mail and gave her $50 in petty cash.

Then, Matty came tearing in, going on about the mayor disappearing. Meanwhile, Spike was going on about the new receptionist.

Spike: How hard can it be? You answer the phone. You say, "Hello." Still -- I have to admit, Kyle hired for the right... (eyeing the receptionist's breasts) skills."

Spike was flirting with Gabrielle, to her surprise, this being highly out of character for the teenage computer whiz. Not that Kyle had a clue. Kyle kept trying to get out of the office to deposit Senor Perez's check, telling Spike to just, you know, find out about this disappearing mayor business on the Internet, right? Spike sent Kyle a message: Spike loves boobs.

Kyle: What. A. Surprise. I'll make sure to take that into account.

Interesting digression. Somehow, we got onto the subject of the iphone, and how, real world, the governor of Philadelphia (if my notes are correct) stood on line with everyone else to get one. Himself, not a proxy. One of his workers sent him email asking, "How come you can take the day off and I can't?" His reply: "I'm not taking the day off. I'm working. I've got the Internet while I'm in line."

Back in the game, Spike loaded the fax with plain white paper.

Spike (who'd been checking out porn sites): And if there happens to be somethng on the back of it, it's not my fault. I'm recycling.

Kyle returned, having deposited the check and picked up asprin. The agency confirmed that Mayor Goodfellow had indeed vanished. They located his car, and examined the evidence therein and the tapes of the garage where it had been found, getting the appropriate permissions. Gabrielle reluctantly checked the coffee left in the car for psychic impressions, getting only relief and enjoyment of the coffee.

There was also a leatherbound journal. I waited for someone to look at it. When, after a while, no one did, I said that Kyle was taking it. Oh boy.

Ken, Kyle's cash cow, now appeared as the chief suspect in the disappearance of the mayor. He'd met with Goodfellow, to discuss the transfer of power. Goodfellow had laughed, saying that was a touch premature, and they spoke of other matters, political issues on which they could find common ground. But, Goodfellow wrote, Ken had seemed so sure of himself.

Spike (seeing Kyle with the journal): What do you got, what do you got, what do you got?

Kyle: A migraine.

And, there matters rested for a surprisingly long time. After no one pressed me further -- for perfectly understandable reasons, like following other leads -- I follwoed the larp principle Josh ingrained into me: Get the information out there.

Kyle asked Gabrielle to, you know, touch the book to get a psychic impression. And he held on to the book while she did. But, by then, the retired cop and his daughter were wanting to see it. And, Kyle really couldn't say no without looking awfully suspicious, so he tossed it to them, a sour look on his face.

Also, by then, Kyle had set up a meeting with Ken. And, yknow? Going to meet a murder suspect, really rich guy? Sharing the info about him is a good idea.

Then, it got interesting, as the retired cop decided we shouldn't show it to the police yet. Kyle breathed a sigh of relief. Then, it got comedic as the handout passed from person to person, until Spike, at the other end of the admittedly round table reached for it, only to have it passed away from him, back the other way. He asked why everyone was playing keep the book away from Spike. As no one had told Kyle about how Spike wasn't acting like himself (I didn't know either in or out of character at that point), Kyle handed it to him.

Someone: Is Kyle going to kill our cash cow?

Kyle first met Kate at Kate and Ken's very impressive home.

GM: If the pool were one inch larger, it would need a commercial permit.

Kate showed off a picture she had recently acquired, speaking of its depth and the pain oozing from it. Kyle pretended to agree, wiping a fake tear from his eye, and wondering what Gabrielle would make of it. He asked about an ugly tapestry in the hall, totally out of keeping with the rest of the house. Kate explained that Ken had brought it home after discovering he had a Mexican ancestor, some peasant woman from the 1600s. Kate hated the tapestry, but Ken loved it.

Kyle left, making a somewhat incoherent call to the agency about the tapestry, and about getting Gabrielle over there to see it. Meanwhile, he was heading for his meeting with Ken.

Kyle: What am I -saying- to him? Meaghan!

Meaghan: Ask him if he kidnapped the mayor. (hangs up)

Gabrielle tried to get Spike to take off the necklace that Senor Perez gave him. He refused. Meaghan tried to drop Spike off at school.

Meaghan: Do I have to call your aunt?

Spike's player: Actually, you would know it's a custodian, not his actual aunt.

Meaghan: Do I have to call your custodial aunt?

Nevertheless, Meaghan, Gabrielle, and Spike all wound up at Ken and Kate's. Kate let them in. Gabrielle got ill touching the tapestry, and left the house to get some fresh air. Spike asked for an alcoholic drink. Kate treated this as a joke and went to get him orange juice. Meaghan decided to get the medallion from Spike.

Meaghan: Gabrielle! What happened to your clothing?

As Spike turned to look, she pulled off the medallion. Spike was now free of its spell. Alas, Meaghan was not.

Meaghan: Boy, this necklace sure is pretty. Gee, I hope nobody takes it from me and burns it! That would be terrible!

Meanwhile, Kyle met with Ken, telling him about the vanishing mayor, because, er, well, maybe someone would come after other mayoral candidates. Ken immediately called for heightened security. They also talked about Ken's Mexican ancestry, but Kyle didn't learn anything new.

Meanwhile, at the agency, people were trying to get the necklace off Meaghan. I think Matty grabbed her while Alan cut the necklace with rubber scissors. Lori ruled that Alan now wanted the necklace, and Matty tried to stop him.

Matty's player (justifying a passion reroll): You gotta get past me, and if you're trying to get past my daughter -- that's passion, baby!

During the fracas, Spike, now himself, kept trying to tell people things.

Spike: Does anyone know about the missing animals -- cats, and dogs, and guinea pigs?

Matty: Later!

Spike: Does anyone know about the heightened security at Dierdorf Mansion?

Matty: Later!

Spike: Does anyone know about Kate's supposed meeting with the mayor?

Matty: Later!

Eventually, both Matty and Alan were bloodied, but Alan was knocked out. People tried to figure out what to do with the necklace. I don't know who said most of the following:

Why don't you just shoot the damned thing?

Oh god, where's <something> room when you need it?

We hit it with hammers!

We drive my car over it!

Melt it!

I want to be thorough.

((to Gabrielle): Does it still seem evil? Touch it!

Gabrielle: I wait for it to cool down.

Eventually, Kyle rejoined the others.

Kyle: You're bleeding.

Matty: I walked into a door.

People finally listened to Spike. Kate had met with the mayor after her husband had. There was heightened security around the Dierdorf chemical plant. Alan was unconscious.

They dropped Alan off at the emergency room, with a note for him telling him where they were so that he could join them when he regained consciousness. Sure, that's not exactly realistic, but we didn't want anyone shut out from the climax of the adventure. Unknown to anyone, Gabrielle brought the melted remnants of the necklace in a locked box. She didn't want to leave them unsecured.

Meaghan called Kate. She was going to drop off the tapestry at the new under construction chemical facility. Meaghan convinced Kate that Kate had to meet them first. But, when folks arrived at the still under construction chemical plant, Kate was nowhere in sight, nor was her car.

Meaghan: Kyle, call Ken.

Kyle did, and was sent to Ken's voice mail. Then, Kate called Ken, sobbing. She was in a ditch. Ken had gotten the tapestry from her, and she didn't know what was going on.

Alan pulled up in a taxi cab. He joined the group, while Kyle took the cab to pick up Kate. Kate told him to bring her husband safely home, just like Kyle had once brought her safely home, in the first case that Ken had ever sent the agency.

The others got into the building, using Gabrielle to figure out where to go. Gabrielle forced herself to go where it was the most painful.

GM: Okay, the left passage feels about the same. The right one makes you want to vomit.

Gabrielle: Go for the vomit.

Kyle caught up with them, and tried to support Gabrielle.

Gabrielle: Once he shows up, I vomit on his expensive shoes. Then, I lean on him. He can't as well as granddad.

Finally, the group located Ken. He was behind a glass wall, naked and covered with symbols. The mayor, also naked and covered with symbols, was strapped to a guerney. There were snakes crawling on the floor, and the strange tapestry and dead animals hanging from the ceiling. Naturally, a fight broke out. I have the following notes:

Someone: What kind of a lab?

GM: Chemical.

Someone: Are there chemicals around?

GM: There are.

Someone (blowing a mind check): This is Unnatural, right?

GM: Very.

GM (as Spike gets over the glass wall): You're in a lab with two naked madmen, a bunch of snakes and a lot of dead animals.

Spike: I tackle him.

GM: Which one:

Spike: The one not strapped to the guerney.

Kyle: Hey, he pays our bills!

Meaghen, Alan, Spike, and Matty all did what they could, while Ken chanted, snakes crawling up his body, and apparently merging somehow with his lower torso. Gabrielle tried to destroy the remnants of the necklace in the box, with Kyle trying to help. Someone, I think Meaghen, dumped ethanol over the tapestry.

GM: The colors bleed. Ken stops chanting for a moment.

Someone: Go, go arson!

The ceremony was stopped, and the tapestry destroyed. Kyle called 911, and had a story ready for cops, medics, and press folks. Some kind of, um, fumes loose in the chemical plant. Yes, that's it. Okay, he couldn't explain the dead animals, but, hey, Not His Problem.

Ken was covered with third degree burns, living only long enough to have a moment of reconciliation with Kate, apologizing to her before he died. Yes, Detectives Unlimited's cash cow was dead, but Kyle and Kate had known each other a long time.

Kyle: Kate, baby, I want you to know, whatever happens, I'll always be there for you.

Someone: Let's just hope her wallet's there for us.

Lori explained that Ken was trying to become -- I forget whether it was Quetzalcoatl or Tezcatlipoca. If he'd succeeded, the PCs would have forgotten about the chemical plant and everyone would have voted for Ken in the election, even if they didn't know why.

Senor Perez's case was completely fake. His "daughter" was an actress. The whole point was to get the one real necklace into the country, the one Spike had. Ken thought he needed it for a power boost for his spell. By the time it gave the boost, it was far too late for it to do Ken any good.