Ghosts of Albion RPG

This was a demo of Eden's new game in progress, based on something online by Amber Benson and someone else, I think. It is set in 1838 Britain, where there is magic, and Protectors, who are sort of like Slayers, but not as strong and with magic.

GM: Garner Johnson

The PCs were described by function and were left for the players to name. We had:

Lady Amelia Jacobson, a baroness
Patrick Kelly, a priest
Gregor, a vampire -- played by me
Sarah Dover, the Protector
Lord Gwydion ip' Rhiannon, a Seelie lord
Thomas Winters, a mage -- played by Steve Balka
Orlick, the ghost of a Danish warrior -- played by Todd
Phineas "Finny", a servant of the baroness -- played by Jeffrey Scott

We went around the table introducing our PCs in character.

Gwydion: I find you humans fascinating!

Ludlow Swift was the group's primary contact, but he was dead. The session opened with the PCs confronting the masked Zombie Baron. He caused dead hands to erupt from the earth and grab the PCs' ankles, then sent zombies to menace them while he tried to bring his latest evil scheme, which involved the Thames and raising a lot of zombies, to fruition.

By the end of the first round of combat, most of the PCs had gotten free of the hands. I learned a few things.

-- Gregor had the cruel disadvantage. It is socially acceptable to grind zombie hands sadistically underfoot

-- Vampires have problems with running water. The GM had no intent of using this to keep my PC out of the action. Gregor could go on a pier or a ship just fine.

-- Ghosts could solidify

-- However loud the room got, the noise did not get in the way of my dozing

-- I woke up when my character's name was called

-- allergy gel capsules were more effective than the pills

-- Garner was right: Putting ice on sinuses helps

Gwydion (fighting off dead hands and zombies): Unhand me, spawn of Herne!

Powerful magic was cast by both sides. Eventually, the Baron fell into the Thames and did not emerge. The zombies were demolished. The group caught its breath and discovered an observer.

This was Cecelia Drummond, a reporter. She knew more than she should have known about magic and protectors. Worse, she believed that people had the right to know the truth of what was going on.

I think someone did magic to knock her out. A group of men arrived, clearly in the know and from the government. They invited the PCs to an important meeting, and promised that Drummond would be dropped off at her home, and would wake up in circumstances suggesting, if not to her, then to all others, that she had fallen asleep after much heavy drinking.

The PCs met Lord Palmerston, the foreign secretary in the cabinet and learned that Dire Happenings were afoot. The legendary scrying stone of Dr. Dee was missing, probably stolen by either the Austrian or the French Ambassador, both of whom had departed shortly thereafter. Gregor sniffed around the scene of the crime, getting an odor of perfume. He went to the ambassadors' quarters and matched the odor of the perfume in the French ambassador's quarters.

The group boarded a ship, sailing after the French ambassador's ship, guessing, correctly, that the Frenchman planned to visit Edward Kelly's grave and raise Kelly's spirit. The idea was, iirc, to get Kelly to use the scrying stone on France's behalf. Kelly was not exactly the most ethical fellow in life, and the group did not think he would have improved in death.

The group's ship was attacked by ghosts from the Spanish Armada, but these were dispatched. Gregor did what he could about the weather and continued to function as what Sarah Dover delightedly referred to as "my bloodhound", tracking the French ambassador from his ship, which the group deduced had been crewed by zombies, to a library. He was no longer there, so everyone set off for the graveyard where Kelly was buried. I think the ambassador had teleported there.

Once the group's coach had reached the graveyard, the Baroness ran out, unlocked the gate, and climbed a tree. Gregor went through the gate behind her and began clearing away zombies. Yes, the Zombie Baron had survived his dunk in the Thames and was working with the French Ambassador!

Gwydion, who was driving the coach, decided to dispense with the gate altogether. He used True Glamour to create a ramp that went over the wall and into the graveyard. He drove the horses up and over, and kept going. As the ambassador communed with Kelly's ghost, the horses knocked over tombstones.

Spells were thrown on both sides. Father Kelly's divine aid proved quite effective. Sarah took the brunt of a blast of magical pain. She passed out, but was able to shield the others. The Baroness faced off with the Zombie Baron, resisting his foul magics, including an illusion of her deceased husband's spirit. She managed to shoot her foe dead.

I think that someone managed to get the scrying stone away from the French Ambassador and that someone else dealt with Kelly's ghost. Gregor attacked the ambassador. It had been a while since he'd eaten.

Player: Ah, you're dining French tonight.

Yes, Gregor had found another socially acceptable way to vent his cruelty. Gwydion stabbed the Frenchman while Gregor was drinking. The waste of blood annoyed the vampire, but, as the GM pointed out, Gwydion's action almost certainly shielded Gregor from a dying sorcerer's magical backlash. And no one objected to his finishing the meal.

The adventure was straightforward, although without a lot of room for roleplaying, or so I would have thought, little touches like our group tossed in notwithstanding. Then, I listened to the tail end of another demo of Ghosts of Albion with the same GM, this one on Friday, with different players, and, I think, a different scenario. I was waiting for the game to end so that I could coordinate timing with Laura Davidson.

Player (to group): Our characters are fighting back to back. This should show you how desperate the situation is.

Laura (to me, indicating as needed): He's playing a vampire. He's playing a high seelie sidhe. They don't like each other.

In my group, we'd clicked into Team Mode seamlessly enough that it simply hadn't occurred to me that anyone would play differently. Clearly, it was a Team Adventure. Nothing like watching a different group with a different style to point out the flaw in my reasoning.

Also, the second game had a number of double entendres, as the GM referred to an enchanted rooster as a black cock, which was not inaccurate. He'd forgotten how it would sound when said aloud.

Player: Just bring on that black cock! I can handle it!

The bird in question was in the basement, and the players laughed at the perfectly reasonable statement, "I go down". Then, for reasons I do not recall, the rooster burned with magical fire, prompting a swift response from the Protector, who used water magic.

GM: Victoria quenches the cock.