Unknown Armies: Show Yourself

GM: Lori Piper

John Bryan: Spike, teenager, computer expert for Detectives Unlimited

Chris Gath: Matty McTavish, retired police officer who would never take a handout, but who works as a consultant for Detectives Unlimited

Me: Kyle Selina, head of Detectives Unlimited, not really skilled at that, and not a failed actor, merely a retired one

Beth Bartley: Kate Kendrick, widow of billionaire Ken Dierdorf, office manager for Detectives Unlimited

Kira Scott: Megan McTavish, Matty's daughter, the real brains behind Detectives Unlimited

Mark Stroskey: Mike Fowler, the newest addition to Detectives Unlimited, a private investigator hired by Kyle to take some of the workload off Megan's plate.

This was the third adventure of the Detectives Unlimited group. In the first adventure, Detectives Unlimited was hired by Ken Diederof to rescue his wife Kate from crazy cultists. In the second, they had to stop Ken from using the magic of an Aztec snake god to sacrifice the incumbent mayor and become mayor himself. Lori said that every single run of that adventure had ended with Ken dead.

And this was good, right? Well, sort of. Ken had been a major client of Detectives Unlimited, and quite generous with his money. Sure, the agency was doing all right for now, but how long would that last? This is part of why Kyle brought Mike Fowler onto the team. The other part was to take some of the workload off Meagan's shoulders, and he really hoped that she wouldn't think he was trying to replace her, because he wasn't.

And then there was Kate, Ken's widow. Kyle had known Kate for years, since they first met in a local theater, as drama students. He was in love with her, but he never told her, and she married Ken. Now, with her working there, it was wonderful and terrible, as Kyle still found himself unable to tell Kate how he felt. Kate certainly had affection for Kyle, but she never mentioned it because she didn't want to ruin their wonderful friendship.

And, on top of that, Kyle felt very guilty about Ken's death. It's not that he wanted it, but... well, he hadn't been a very good friend to Ken, had he? And Ken was his friend. Kyle hadn't realized what a good friend Ken was, but since Ken died, Kyle spoke to Ken quite a lot, alone in his office at night. Oh, he knew that he wasn't really speaking to Ken. After all, Ken was dead. Kyle knew that; he'd seen the body, and he'd seen it buried. But, Kyle also knew he wasn't going insane. This was just part of the grieving process, right? Right? Except that, every now and then, Kyle did start to wonder if he was losing it.

As the scenario began, Kyle headed for his office, having picked up his latte from Starbucks and a coffee for Jack, the local homeless guy. Yep, good deed for the day accomplished. Then, he opened up the offices of Detectives Unlimited, only to discover that there had been a break in. The place was thoroughly ransacked. He dropped his latte.

Meagan joined him shortly thereafter.

Megan: Nice shot with the coffee, boss.

Kyle: Thanks. I practice.

Kyle: Is the chair a clue?

Megan: Well, maybe you shouldn't touch anything. This -is- a crime scene.

Kate called to tell Ken that she'd be coming in a bit late. He told her not to worry, since there had been a break in. Surprised, Kate said that there had been a break in at her place as well, and the cops were there. She spoke to Matty, asking which of the cops she should trust the most. He told her that one, Duncan, was basically a punk, but that Alec was a nice guy.

Mike headed into work next.

Mike: Sorry I'm late. Is the coffee ready?

Kyle: Take your time. We've had a break in.

Mike: Yeah, yeah. Is the coffee ready? Wow! There really -was- a break in.

Kyle (mouthing the words to the ceiling): Ken, this is what I have to deal with!

Meanwhile, Megan and her father had their old argument.

Matty: Is that any kind of language for a Catholic girl to use?

Megan: You know I haven't been a Catholic for 20 years.

Matty: Doesn't matter. You're baptised.

Megan: I think some folks down at the bar would disagree with you --

Matty: Doesn't matter. Me and Peter are gonna have a conversation -- you're not going to Hell.

By now, reviewing the office's security tapes and what not showed that the door had been opened with the passkey of Megan's niece, Matty's granddaughter, Gabrielle.

Gabrielle had been with Detectives Unlimited for the first two adventures, She was a psychic, and a fairly delicate woman. And, she had decided that enough was enough, and she was tired of snake gods. So, she went to college in Boston, becoming an NPC.

Megan: I don't know what Gabrielle's doing breaking into the office --

Mike: I really don't think it was Gabrielle --

Megan: That's what I mean. I'd better call her.

She did, and Gabrielle expounded happily on the virtues of Boston.

Gabrielle: And you know what they -don't- have in Boston? Snake gods!

Megan agreed, and asked about Gabrielle's key to the office. Gabrielle promised to look for it as soon as she got home.

There wasn't a lot that had been taken -- the petty cash and Spike's X-Box. Spike was pretty upset about that.

At Kate's home, it was mostly the same story. Cash, some jewelry, and Kate's small electronics had been taken. Some paintings had also been stolen. Kate herself had painted two of them. The third was Ken's favorite painting, a truly hideous painting of an Aztec whom Ken had fondly believed to be one of his ancestors. Kate had detested the painting, but found herself reluctant to get rid of it after Ken died.

The security system at her house was very sophisticated, but it had apparently been turned off at some point. Annabelle, Ken's secretary, called her. Ken's Ansel Adams painting, his private rolodex, and some photos were missing from the office. Kate confirmed that she had not taken them. She got the negatives of Ken's photos, and Spike was able to do something with them to figure out that one of the missing photos was of Ken and another guy in Mexican dress. The caption was "Over snake river"

Beth: Was the rolodex on Ken when he died?

Lori: It was not on him when he was flayed alive.

Quote whose context I forget:

Megan: That's a good idea.

Kyle: You see? I -do- have them occasionally. Mark this on the calendar!

Megan: You got it, boss!

Kyle and Matty drove over to Kate's place, to confirm that she was all right. Then, they went back to the office, Kate assuring them that she'd be fine. On the way into the office, Kyle and Matty were intercepted by Jack.

Jack (to Kyle, his usual greeting): Hey, pretty boy, got a dollar?

Kyle handed him a dollar. Matty handed him a St. Christopher's medal.

Jack: Hey, I got a medal. (with sudden intensity, to Kyle) He needs it! He -needs- it!

Kyle: Needs what, Jack?

Jack: He -needs- it! He can't cross over! He's stuck! Stuckstuckstuckstuckstuck!

Kyle (unnerved): Jack, what are you talking about?

Jack: Stuckstuck -- Hey, pretty boy, got a dollar?

Kyle sighed and handed him another dollar, having a sinking feeling he knew what It might be.

As part of Ken's convoluted plan to become mayor, he had arranged for Detectives Unlimited to bring a powerful amulet into the country. Anyone who wore it was convinced that it was The! Coolest! Thing! Ever! and did not want to take it off. Detectives Unlimited had tried unsuccessfully to destroy it (at least in the run of the previous adventure that I played in).

After Ken's death, Spike took the amulet, and, for some reason, everyone else let him. Still, he wasn't wearing it, so it was probably all right. Spike agreed to check on the amulet.

Meanwhile, Kate got a call from Samantha, a woman from her accounting firm, to report that there had been four transfers made over the last four weeks, apparently with proper authorization. Kate confirmed that she had not made these transfers, nor had she authorized anyone else to do so. Now, the transfers were not for that much money, merely $200,000 a pop. But they were not transfered into the CityCorp account, and this was starting to look a little odd. Kate locked down her accounts, except for a couple of million dollars in spending money.

Quote whose context I forget:

Someone: What world do -you- live in?

Someone else: The -real- one.

Kyle told Megan about her father giving Jack a St. Christopher's medal. It wasn't that he objected, but he thought Megan should know. He also tried to reassure her that Mike was in no way her replacement. I have no idea whether she was convinced.

Kate's lawyer called her several times, trying to convince her to sell Ken's company for two billion dollars to a Greek business tycoon. Kate refused to commit, but did agree that he could send her the papers to review. Kate formally hired Detectives Unlimited to look into the thefts. In other words, she was paying them to do what they were doing anyway. No one minded.

Somewhere in here, Kyle went out for another latte, and was confronted by Jack, who babbled about being stuck and needing "it". Kyle tried to explain that he was doing his best. Jack said, "Be a better friend", something that nicely hit Kyle's guilt button.

Meanwhile, Spike found the amulet, which had completely changed its form. Instead of being Aztec, it was now Greek. He put it on, to the chagrin of Kyle, Megan, and Matty. Somehow, Mike got it off Spike, but put it on himself. He completely disbelieved all of this occult drivel, and he thought it looked ridiculous on Spike.

Unfortunately, once he put it on, he was convinced that it looked totally cool. It looked great on him! And, hey, maybe he should go to a bar and pick up some girls with his totally cool amulet.

Megan: Mike, you're married!

Mike: No, I'm not.

Someone: Uh, hi, Mikey.

Kyle sighed and told everyone to just let Mike wear it, reasoning that he didn't want to try overpowering Mike, and that Mike had to sleep sometime.

Kate went off and special ordered gloves and a pair of wire cutters. These were delivered to Kyle's office. Kyle was delighted.

Kyle (to the air): Thank you, Gabrielle!

After all, who else but the young psychic could have figured out that they'd need these?

The amulet was removed from Mike. As soon as he was no longer wearing it, Mike decided that it wasn't that cool after all. Kyle made sure that the amulet went into a box, and he locked the box, took it into his office, and closed (but did not lock) the office door.

And inside his office was Ken. Kyle was not surprised, but asked Ken what he was supposed to do. Ken told him that he already knew and to be a better friend. Kyle took out the amulet and tried to put it on Ken, but this did not work.

By now, Kyle was shouting, and Kate, concerned, asked what was wrong. Ken tried to make everyone believe that things were under control. Kate opened the door to Ken's office. She saw him talking to a file cabinet, with the amulet on the floor.

Kyle, seeing the file cabinet himself, sighed and put the amulet back in the box, and freaked out at Kate about how he was not going insane and did not talk to file cabinets and the dead did not come back to life, and he was just feeling perfectly understandable guilt.

Quote whose context I forget:

Someone: No, what do they think about death, life, and snake gods?

Kyle got a call from the lobby. Some homeless guy was calling for him, making a scene. Kyle said he'd come down, which he did, carrying the box and followed by everyone else.

As he expected, Jack was in the lobby, screaming at the top of his lungs for Kyle.

GM: Make a perception roll.

Lisa: Made it.

GM: Kyle, Jack -never- calls you Kyle. He always calls you "Pretty Boy".

Kyle: That's right.

He tried to give the box with the amulet to Jack. Jack said that wasn't it -- Kyle was to bring the amulet where Kyle and Kate had first met.

Then, Jack blinked and looked around, confused. Kyle told the security guards to let him go. They did.

The rest of Detectives Unlimited waited for Kyle to explain. He didn't really understand himself, but he thought that Jack was being possessed by Ken's spirit, and that he himself was trying to bring Ken back to life.

Kate: What??

Kyle explained that he thought Ken needed the amulet, and he was going to bring it to Ken. He and Kate had first met at the nearby theater, so that was where he was going to bring it. Kate nodded, took Ken's arm, and started leading him out of the building, to the consternation of the others.

Mike: Okay, I can't shoot -him-, because he pays us, and I can't shoot -her-, because she pays him to pay us.

Megan: Why are you always talking about guns?

Mike: That's a very interesting question that we'll have to address -- later.

Matty: You got your gun. I got mine. -Someone- is getting shot at.

Matty had his own theory: Someone was pulling a con on Kyle. That someone wanted the amulet. So, he said that everyone should let Kyle deliver it, accompany Kyle, and deal with whoever the con artist turned out to be.

The room where Kyle and Kate met was backstage at the theater, and it was currently full of people in variously colored hooded robes. Their faces were covered. On a raised platform, one man was beaten brutally, and did not resist. Several of the robed figures chanted in Ancient Greek. At what seemed the appropriate part of the ritual to him, Kyle started toward the platform. Robed figures parted to let him by, largely ignoring the others from Detectives Unlimited.

Kyle: See, I know my cue.

Lori: That's why we love you, Lisa.

Kyle: See, no Aztec snake gods -- they're Greek!

Megan: You're such an optimist, Kyle.

Lori: He -is- such an optimist.

Mike: An -opportunist-.

I believe Lori indicated that what was going on seemed to be some kind of Dionysian ritual.

Me (remembering something): I take it back! There -are- Greek snake gods!

Lori: There are no snakes!

Me: Dionysius turns people into snakes!

Lori: But probably not -today-!

Still, whatever I may have remembered from Classical Studies, all Kyle knew was that he wanted to get the amulet to the fallen figure on the platform.

Lori: That's where the amulet wants to go.

Kyle: Good. See? I -can- do improv!

Unfortunately, the others interfered at this point. I'm not sure how things would have gone if we'd had extra time, but as it was, Lori moved quickly to the wrap up.

Ken had not come back from the dead. Matty was right about there being a con game. The Greek business man who wanted to buy Ken's company needed the magical amulet, or so he thought. The amulet changed itself to be what its owner wanted, rather like some of the cursed items in the television show Friday the 13th. If the business man had gotten it, Kate would have been happy to sell her company to him, convinced it would be in good hands.

The summer intern for Detectives Unlimited, an NPC, had contacted the man and told him that Kyle was so crazy that it would be easy to manipulate him into handling the amulet over. The intern had also been the one who had taken the money from Kate's accounts. The four withdrawals had been a test. Ultimately, he had planned to take all of Kate's money. Kate was far more angry at him than at the business man. She was also furious at her lawyer, who had been suborned by the business man. After all, he was supposed to be working for her.

All of the break ins were managed by suborning people, I believe. I think someone had stolen Gabrielle's key, but I'm not sure. As for Jack, he had been the victim of a magical ritual cast by the business man and his associates, many of whom were women, which explained why a lot of the robed figures were on the short side.

Me: Okay, but that doesn't explain Ken in Kyle's office, does it? That had to have been different.

Lori: Oh, it was. Okay, Kyle? You need therapy. Putting a necklace on a filing cabinet? Not good.

Yes, Kyle really was cracking under the strain of his own guilt. And this, said Lori, was the end of what she thought of as the Kyle triptych. Presumably the next Detectives Unlimited scenario will focus on a different character.

It's interesting looking at the changes in cast that Lori made for this adventure. Swapping Gabrielle out for Kate worked well, I thought, and Beth is a player who knows what to do with someone that rich when it comes to tracking resources, using resources, and delegating. Lori also swapped out a man who did forensic analysis for Mike Fowler, explaining that no one really knew what to do with the forensics man. I'm not sure if Mike worked out better or not. Mark did get some great lines in for him. I gather the earlier group had someone who played Mike quite differently, and as a very nice guy.

We voted for Best Roleplayer, and there was a tie between Kira, who played Megan, and Chris, who played Matty.