Unhallowed Metropolis: Part 3 of 3

Saturday, 10 am, 2 August 2010: Unhallowed Metropolis, Part 3 of 3

This was either a five or six hour slot, I think I six hour slot with five hours worth of game, and an hour to allow for slippage, which I appreciated, especially as I had to walk to the farthest convention hotel from it for my next game.

I forget most of the players' names, and I fail to remember the GM's as well, so here is such of the cast list as I have:

• GM
• ???: Jack Bellows, undertaker
• ???: 7 foot tall albino woman, one eye, Elizabeth Harkins
• Me: Alexander Atwood, dhampire
• ???: Geneeive, mourner (Played Gemma in "Keeping Up Appearances"). With child. No guild ring.
• ???: Marie, prostitute with tuberculosis
• ???: ??? Criminal? Prob w/her noble laid? (Tavi)
• ???: John Hargraves, ex police, retired to priesthood, invalid, one arm
• ???

We were asked to make up a rumor about the person to our left, or rather, about that person's PC.

Geneveive: She was involved in illegal organ smuggling. The box she carries with her is full of kidneys, hearts, and living body parts.

Alexander might not even _be_ a real vampire -- something's not right in that family.

Elizabeth used to be the mistress of a rich guy who liked 'em twisted.

Jack would up his numbers by waiting a while for the victim to turn.

John was helping Irish terrorists.

Marie's family lost most of its money investing in businesses run by anarchists who betrayed her family, leaving it penniless.

This was the third session of a three parter, and some players had been in parts 1 and / or 2. The PCs had been recruited to look into some sort of mysterious goings on, only to find themselves on the run. Alexander had to destroy his estate in the first or second part.

I think the PCs' supposed patron was Dashwood, but they didn't have a picture of him, and they were talking to someone calling himself Coddington, whose picture was missing from whatever peerage book they looked in.

Random Quotes:

About Hargraves: Scariest priest alive, Vicar

GM: No. However, you, with your photograhic memory...

About Hargraves: I have this image of you trying to rearrange his bullets by size. He points a gun at you. You start polishing it.

Someone explaining Mourners: In Firefly terms, a mourner is Inara. She adds respectability.

I'm a bit vague on the exact twists of the plot. We all knew we needed to find out the Horrible Plan and then fight to stop it, which was the important thing.

For reasons I forget, we needed to get a carriage to go to a house that we thought was Coddington's.

GM: Carriages are not generally _left_ unattended... but one could _become_ unattended... if certain attractive ladies were to flaunt certain attributes at certain people... I'm just speculating here.

Marie (to the person responsible for watching the carriage, like, oh, the male coachman) I'm looking for my sister's place -- well, actually, I need a haberdashy first -- I need a new hat -- do you like this hat? What do you think goes with my dress? (drops something for him to pick up) You have the handsomest chin!

Soon, the PCs had a carriage.

Someone: Whichever of you wants to drive...

John Hargraves pointed out that one of the women considering driving had two arms, unlike him.

Coddington's house was disturbing. The kitchen was full of blood, as if people had been butchered there.

GM: The butler's room is immaculate -- and is missing several things.

Me: Like a butler?

The GM agreed.

I think there was a brief fight with the butler. If so, he definitely lost, and the PCs considered their next move.

Marie (about Jack Bellows): If we're in a firefight, I want to be as far from him as possible.

GM: Because he actually uses fire.

Marie: I'm just afraid someone'll shoot the gas tank on his back.

At some point, John Hargraves' PTSM kicked in.

GM (to one of the players about his or her PC): He's trying to simultaneously arm wrestle you and handcuff you, which is rather impressive, because he is one-armed.

John (coming to himself): Oh. Terribly sorry. Won't happen again.

Eventually, the PCs found a clue or two.

GM: There are also pictures of a warehouse.

Detective's Player: That's a person who turns into a house.

The warehouse was down at the docks.

Someone: It's always the docks.

Me: Something is wrong. No one has tried to kill us.

GM: Give it time. Give it time.

Me: Things are about to go right.

GM: Very horribly right in all of the wrong ways.

As the PCs tried to figure out how to get into a secret passage that lead underneath the warehouse, Genevieve said, "We're looking for a key -- ring."

Fou players slapped their head at once. They had been carrying around a couple of rings with symbols that just happened to match the symbols on a Very Large and Heavy Stone Box.

Sure enough, the ring was the key and the box opened to reveal a passage to a secret, subterraneous laboratory!

GM: Of course, what happens in a secret subterraneous lab --

Chorus: _Stays_ in a secret subterraneous lab.

Me: The trouble is it Never Does!

This secret subterraneous lab had the real Dashwood, who had been the victim of some unspeakable experiments. I think there was some kind of super soldier serum or something. But, all of the potential troops were enclosed behind glass. Before dying, Dashwood warned the PCs that they needed to stop Coddington, who was actually a vampire, planning to turn the realm over to vampires. He had just left for Buckingham Palace!

The PCs made haste to depart.

Genevieve: Before we leave the lab, I would like to ask him to add some fire.

Jack: Finally!

And, the lab burned very satisfactorily.

Marie: Any clue how we are going to get into Buckingham?

John: Not a one.

Nevertheless, the PCs got in, by showing the ring. They worked their way around to the antechamber / waiting room for folks visiting the queen, meeting almost no one. In the antechamber, there were eight dead dhampires, elite troops who guarded the queen.

Someone: We may be facing some resistance.

And, indeed, there was resistance. First, the PCs had to fight their way past the antechamber. Then, they had to face three vampires in a room with an entranced queen. One of the vampires was Coddington. It was touch and go, as vampires are _very_ powerful, but the PCs prevailed, without a single casualty on their side. The GM mentioned afterwards the trickiness of calibrating the opposition. He needed to have beefed the vampires up just a bit -- but no more than that. Very tricky call, and it's usually best to have a convention game's final fight be a touch too easy than an unwinnable TPK.

GM (after the fight): And -- as is always the way -- the household guard arrives.

Someone: They're _never_ on time!

GM: Well, they had to stop for coffee, there was a great block in the road, and Tin-Tin forgot his wallet.

The PCs immediately stood down. The queen revived and was willing to hear them out.

John's player: Does she have a corgi? She ought to have a corgi!

GM: Just to make you happy, she has a corgi.

John: Your corbi is most beautiful.

Her Majesty asked what the PCs wanted that might be in her power to grant.

GM: A lot of you have put everything you have to save her royal ass.

Marie: I want a title.

Queen: Seeing as how I seem to be less two nobles...

She named Marie Lady Bellefleur of Lamb, making her of higher rank than the man who had wronged her.

Elizabeth Harkins: I notice with Lord Coddington's death, you seem to have an opening in the Deathwatch.

I believe the queen made her a colonel.

Jack and Alexander were made royal guards, and Alexander was also named Marquess Exeter.

The queen decided that she needed the PCs to form a new agency, one empowered to oversee all members of Parliament and search for conspiracies. We joked about whether this might be Torchwood or MI6.