The Paris Sanction
Saturday, 23 February, 9 am - 1 pm: Night's Black Agents: The Paris Sanction
- GM: John Adamus
- David Cole: Dante Massaveli
- Sean Leventhal: Dr. Martin Advarr
- Me: Melinda Rogers
- Mike: Jack Spanner
- Dan: Mike "Mercury" Totes
- ???: Roger Crownhouse
Someone, probably the GM: It's more cool to have a spy movie than a spy episode.
Someone, probably the GM, described NBA as Burn Notice meets Buffy.
There was a very large stack of pre-generated characters from which to choose. Each had three points of trust divided up among two or three other PCs, but since not all of those were in play, the GM told us to divide the three points any way we chose among the other PCs who were actually in play. One can give the trust points to people as a bonus on their rolls. But, when people betray someone who has put trust in them, they may use any remaining trust points as a bonus on their actions against their victim. Trust does not regenerate, which is totally fine for a convention one shot.
All the PCs were part of a team. Melinda was particularly good at Digital Intrusion, which was her MOS. MOS = Military Occupational Specialty, which means that, once a session, I could declare an auto-success with that skill. Melinda was also quite good with explosives. Her Drive was Thrillseeker, and while I could perhaps have tried to make that clearer in play, the situation was naturally thrilling.
A terminal strain of the flu was on auction in Paris. An earlier team had been sent to get it. The team members had posed as Basque Separatists. They had a safehouse in Pamplona, Spain -- an entire rented out building next to the Church of Mark. But, something had happened to them.
The GM asked what we wanted to do on the journey to Pamplona. Melissa decided to do research on the auction. It was to occur in one week's time, in Paris. This was probably the first clue to the players, not the PCs, that the auction was intended as the end of the session, which meant that what might seem like obstacles to be ditched as soon as possible were actually the meat and potatoes of plot.
Payment for items purchased at the auction would be cash on the spot. The vial of flu was not the only thing up for sale. There were also a crate of hand grenades, lost art taken by the Nazis during WWII, and the bones of St. Felix, the patron saint of donations and auctions.
Dr. Advarr whipped up a large batch of flu vaccine. He made sure to inoculate everyone.
Someone: Thanks, Doc!
Note that this Night's Black Agents session was very cinematic. Josh assures me that only in movies of the type we were emulating could one just whip up a bunch of flu vaccine.
Two members of the team had or created Cover identities as pediatricians. One Cover name was Dr. Roger. We joked about a pediatrician's conference being in town. Someone, I think Dante, made a cover as a man who worked for the Vatican. Melissa made a cover of Kristin, his assistant.
The group then considered what they knew about what had happened to the previous team. The GM noted that this was the first core clue. The original team had been found dead, frozen solid, bound hand and foot, with their fingerprints removed. In addition to mundane reasons for removing fingerprints, in occult lore, this could be used for creating zombies, animating the dead, making clones, and certain voudoun rituals.
Either Dante or Mercury: Anyone with weird finger fetishes in town?
Also, the original team had been researching spontaneous weather patterns. It was uncommonly cold in Pamplona just now. I wondered if we were talking Fimbulwinter. The PCs got some good winter clothing before going to the safehouse.
The safehouse was meticulously clean. _Everything_ had been wiped down. There was a black laptop which contained photos of weather patterns, travel data, and things of that nature. Melissa realized that someone was watching through the laptop from some unknown point. She started tracking the eavesdropper.
Then, the doorbell rang. Jack looked through the peephole and saw a delivery guy with a pizza. He opened the door. No one was especially surprised when the delivery man attacked. It was, however, a little surprising that the man was a zombie or something similar.
We used the Marvel initiative system, i.e., when one is finished, one picks the next person to go. I think the zombie wounded someone, either Jack or Dr. Advarr.
Mercury's player described how Mercury was going to plant an explosive device on zombie and then tackle Dr. Advarr _away_ from the explosion. He used a small C4 charge.
GM: _Small_ C4 charge.
Mercury: Very small -- it's for interpersonal combat.
GM (loving this): That is a _horrible_ idea!
Melissa: I hunch protectively over the laptop.
And there was an explosion, blowing the door off its hinges.
GM: Congratulations, Mercury. You made a mess.
This did put the zombie down, however. Dr. Advarr examined the corpse. It had been dead for 3-4 days. The original cause of death was that the man had been shot in the back.
Melissa realized that the eavesdropper was based in Paris. She pulled the hard drive. Everyone left the apartment.
GM: You leave door open?
Someone: We have no choice -- we blew it off its hinges.
GM: Fair point.
We discussed what the characters knew about zombies as Jack looked around for a pizza delivery vehicle.
GM: Zombies don't rest until they complete their mission.
Jack: Zombies can't drive cars?
GM: Correct -- but you can program one to do that.
Jack: That explains a lot!
He found the vehicle and looked inside.
GM: There are pizzas in it.
Sean: That's the scariest part of it.
There was also a receipt from Luigi's Pizza, I think in the zombie's pocket. Jack called Luigi's to tell the staff that one of their cars had been stolen and where it was.
I forget how the group got the address where they went next. This house had a man, a woman, and a teenager watching those members of the group who chose to approach the house. This trio was clearly visible through what I assume was a floor to ceiling window or glass door. They all stepped back when someone rang the bell.
I'm a little vague on exactly what happened next. There was smoke. Someone from the PC's side kicked the door down. The windows smashed. Someone thought to ask whether they smashed in or out. The GM praised his presence of mind and said that they smashed out.
The GM described the back of the house as a "shit show". There were six holes in the ground in the back yard -- one for each PC, we noted. And, we had a nasty suspicion about just what was cooking on the stove.
The back door was off its hinges. I don't recall whether our group did that, but I don't think so. Someone noticed the ankle high trip wire stretched across the doorway, connected to a small stack of claymores. And Mercury, who was in the front, I think, decided to go for the Blow It All Up solution.
Mike (who played with me in the first round of the NBA tournament last July): Does this sound familiar?
Me: Yes.
GM (to Mike, realizing): Oh, _you_ blew up the hospital. I worked on that.
I do have to admit, however, that blowing up the hospital probably saved lives, and that it was starting to look as if Blow It All Up was a viable solution to many NBA situations. Many, but not all.
As the trio inside the house were reacting very oddly, and as the PCs had seen a total absence of any indication that anyone else was in the house, no one tried to stop Mercury from using explosives.
GM (I think): Congratulations -- you just mucked (?) the house.
Mercury: What's our nuclear family doing right now?
GM: Oh, I'm so glad you asked!
By now, it was clear that the nuclear family was inhuman. Its members used walls and ceiling as easily as the floor in the ensuing combat. And, it was now snowing outside, and very cold in the house.
Jack: Let's not try to burn down the neighborhood. But, y'know, acceptable losses.
Mercury (noting the lack of effect his explosives are having on anything but the property): Jack? We can't blow them up, Jack!
Nevertheless, the group managed to destroy all three. I think someone shot one of the creatures' heads off. Silver worked well on them. I have a note about Dr. Advarr and an autopsy.
There was an iPhone in the kitchen. Once the creatures were dead, Jack took the phone and checked to see incoming / outgoing calls. Everyone got back in the car. As they started driving, the phone rang.
Jack: Pronto!
Whoever called hung up. The phone then rang again.
Jack: Diagame!
The voice on the other end told him to go to Pamplona Airport, Gate 8C.
Jack: Gracias.
This was almost certainly a trap. It was also almost certainly the group's best lead. The car drove to the airport.
Gate 8C had a flight departing for the USA, heading to Los Angeles, with a layover in NYC.
The iPhone had looked up various websites, asking questions such as:
What does a stewardess wear? What are the layouts of these planes: 747, 757, 767, 777?
Websites about O2 saturation levels had also been consulted. And, a company called Markex had come up, though I forget how. This company provided foods to institutions and prisons.
The group arrived at the airport. Inside, the guys near the luggage were checking the group out, and their mouths were stitched shut. I've got a note about a silent cab driver, but can't recall whether his mouth was sewn shut. Probably not, as I don't recall the cab driver being part of the ensuing fight.
Melissa hacked into the airport's system and broadcast an announcement about the upcoming flight being at another gate. This cleared out just about all of the innocents, leaving the PCs, the villains, and some corpses, as the villains had killed the security staff before the PCs arrived. I know I have forgotten a lot of the details of the fight, but this is what I remember:
There were six bad guys, all fairly tough. Someone, probably Mercury, blew a hole in the wall. Dr. Advarr was badly injured. Melissa got a van. I forget what brand it was, but as we played, certain facts were established about it.
Melissa got the doctor into the van and then drove into the terminal. Meanwhile, more damage was done to the terminal.
GM: Periodically, I will roll for flying luggage damage!
One of the PCs took off down the people mover with three of the enemy following. He also took care of a fallen and nearly frozen companion, wrapping him in a space blanket to start him thawing out.
And, inevitably, there was more explosives used.
GM (trying to figure out Mercury's plan): You want to drop a grenade down your pants?
Mercury: No, I want to drop a grenade down _his_ pants.
GM: That's a fun date!
This worked (possibly because there was silver mixed in somewhere? I don't recall), and took out at least one, maybe two or three of the enemy.
GM: The good news is it's shooting at you and it's not such a great shot. (rolls a 6 on d6) Except now.
Roger dove for the van.
GM: Where on the van are you going to land?
Roger: The roof.
GM: Of course! There _is_ a roof rack!
Somewhere around here, Dr. Advarr regained consciousness, and his player noted that, given the make and model of the van, there'd be golf clubs. This worked for all of us. The doctor was surprisingly effective.
GM: The doctor works better when he's near death.
Melissa drove the van right at one of the creatures. He grabbed onto the windshield, which started to freeze and develop cracks. Then, she drove into a column to pin him. The GM rolled to see what this did to the guy on the hood and the guy on the roof. The guy on the roof was all right, as I recall. The creature on the hood was at least injured, but may not have been dead.
Someone: These creatures are ignoring physics -- wait, we're in a movie.
Indeed, this was perhaps the first combat I've played in that _felt_ like a scene from one of those action movies with too many explosions, all of which can be outrun by the good guys.
Someone grabbed a motorcycle and aimed for one of the remaining creatures. The roll did not succeed, so the GM had him fail forward.
GM: You can stay on motorcycle and have it happen -- or bail and have it miss.
Player: Stay on it.
And, somehow, all the creatures were taken out, and all of the PCs managed to survive. I eyed my points and noted to myself that, if there were no refresh, odds were the PCs would be dropping like flies.
The plane to Los Angeles took off. Someone called the PCs' boss to report in, explaining the group's suspicions about there being vampires on the plane, quite possibly planning to turn the entire human population of the plane before it landed.
Boss: I need you to get on that plane.
PC: It's already taken off.
Boss: I need you to get on that plane.
So, the group came up with a plan to do -- well, not precisely that, but something possibly better. Melissa and someone who could pilot a plane -- I think Dr. Advarr -- got into a plane and took off after their quarry.
Either Dante or Mercury: I'm gonna call in a bomb threat. In Korean.
GM: You speak Korean?
Dante or Mercury: Yes, I do.
This is one of the things that Agents of KL consider awesome about NBA: This particular flavor of Gumshoe has been tweaked to make it fairly inexpensive to pick up multiple languages. After all, the PCs are globe trotting agents considered to be highly competent. Cf:
Meanwhile, the pursuing plane got close enough that Melissa could try to take control of it. This was the perfect time to use my guaranteed success with her MOS, so I did. The plane landed, and the passengers were taken off it and brought somewhere relatively safe.
The PCs noticed two things:
- There was a _lot_ of luggage on the plane.
- One piece was "fucking HUGE" -- a large, wooden crate.
What might be in it? Well, use of the Occult Investigation skill revealed that all of the cold meant it might be a Vorthr, aka a winter lich, or a frost elemental, or a super zombie. I spent an extra point for Melissa. She was able to rule out super zombie and figure out that it was probably a Vorthr. I don't recall whether this was an automatic success or a spend for a roll. After all, knowing exactly what one is about to fight isn't necessarily a Core Clue. The PCs _are_ allowed to fail and to die.
This time, though, the PCs were able to take careful precautions and... well, not exactly destroy the Vorthr, but neutralize it. The body parts needed to be buried separately and face down.
Then, the group flew to Paris. At this point, the GM gave us a Refresh, which I'd expected. The timing was interesting, as the Paris section felt more like a coda. Then again, that was partly because of how we prepared for it. With another group, it could have turned into another fight.
The group's safehouse was a moon in Mulan Noir Hotel. The auction would be at the Museum of French Trade Guilds. The MC was Carson Foster, a dwarf (not the fantasy race). The only photo of him the group could track down showed him with grey skin. He did odd jobs. The group realized that the odds were that Carson Foster was a Duergar, aka an evil dwarf (okay, a race from mythology).
There were several groups of bidders including:
- An entire Saudi family
- North Koreans, having decided they would take credit for the recent bomb threat (I _think_ the GM added this group just for us).
- A group claiming to be CIA, but which one of the PCs easily figured out was really IRA (that didn't require a spend, being a sort of throwaway half-joke).
- A Columbian Cartel.
As the original group was to come as the Basques, Melissa suggested the PCs do just that. Everyone except Dante did that, with Melissa posing as the head of the delegation. Dante used his Vatican cover ID.
Melissa took control of a dozen camera feeds once they arrived at the auction. At least one of them showed a storage room. This room had three large coffins -- so far.
Carson Foster started the auction with the ten cases of hand grenades. Melissa bid on this, but dropped out before the end. I think the Saudis won it.
Next up was the stolen Nazi art. Someone asked about Caron's auctioneering style. He didn't really have much of one. He pointed at the grenades and said, "Grenades". He pointed at the art and said, "Nazi art".
Dante raised a few eyebrows by putting in a Vatican bid for the stolen Nazi art. Meanwhile, Jack slipped out, disguised himself as a French Teamster, and went to the storage room.
He filched the vial of flu, which was what the group had come for. Then, he arranged the grenades near the coffins, and set at least one of them to go off in, oh, about three seconds.
Before the explosion was due, Melissa pretended to throw a stormy Basque tantrum and stalked out, followed by the rest of her entourage. Dante got out as well. Jack left.
<BOOM!>
Melissa: Did we... kill the civilians?
GM: Yes.
Jack: No -- if they were _in_ that building, they were just as bad as we are.
And on that ambiguous moral note, we ended. I still don't get how to run Gumshoe well. I still note that the two games that were closest to by-the-book were run by a) Ken Hite who wrote two Gumshoe games and b) John Adamus, who's very good at this. But, I enjoyed both of these games, and John's game had the breakneck pace of a thriller movie, not that of a game that _wants_ to emulate a thriller movie but has fights take forever.
