Victim's Ball

(ae205)

This was a Call of Cthulhu game set in post revolutionary France. It had a slow start, but an excellent climax.

The slow start was due to two factors. The first was the opening infodump. The gm gave us a quick overview of French history just before the time of the scenario. Then, he listed all of the PCs by full French name, giving a long description of each, at least half as long as the printed character descriptions. By the time he was done, some of us had already forgotten which name went with which description.

The way to handle all of this, imao, is with handouts. One page of history, just dates and events, and one page listing the PCs, prominent NPCs, and a -brief- description of each character, no more than a sentence, or perhaps even a phrase.

The notes I took on the historical information are:

1789: Bad harvest

1783: Overthrow

1794: Committee for Public Safety. 16,000 victims of the guillotine

1794: Directorate

True for the sake of the game: People held parties where one had to have lost a relative to the guillotine to get an invitation. (This may or may not actually have been true.)

At the time of the scenario, Napoleon is an up an coming officer to whom the directorate owes a favor. He quelled some kind of riot by shooting into the crowd.

GM: Kevin Kreiner

???: Amorette Goddard, daughter of a sea captain who was a smuggler, Not a Smuggler

Jason: Philippe, military, cavalry, politician

Clifford Earle: Guy Pierre Du... et cetera, doctor. His connections got him into trouble -- and out again.

Me: Jean D'Arcy, soldier from Languedoc, that weird place up south, The gm explained that there were 2 Frances in the mind of many of the French, the north and the South. D'Arcy had been posted to Haiti, and had been extremely lucky. Unlike many others for whom a posting to Haiti proved a death sentence, he did not get yellow fever.

Nathan: Carine Lidel, designer. He did an astonishing job with this woman.

Naomi Pitre: Gisselle, feminist revolutionary, pamphleteer. Unfortunately, she also advocated women's rights. The revolution advocated Fraternity, not Fraternity and Sorority, as the gm said.

Clarence: Chretien St. Just, aging aristocrat

Dylan Addis: Aimee Apicello, widowed twice. I don't know about the first husband, but she hadn't killed the second and was trying to find out who had. She had some occult knowledge. Played by a guy.

The gm would have preferred as little cross casting as possible, He thought cross casting would make dance scenes harder. I think he's wrong. In any case, one of the guys had to play a woman due to the uneven gender distribution. I wanted D'Arcy, and Nathan, who'd started out with the doctor, passed him to Clifford, who had completely lost track of which character was which. It worked out well, I think.

Once we all had our characters, the gm separated us into two groups, the men and the women, describing how each group was transported to the ball. I don't generally like that tactic, but here, I think it was correct. None of the PCs started off knowing each other, and this was a useful topic of discussion as they began to know each other and the various NPCs.

The host of the ball, Comte de Rochelle, was rumored to have survived the Terror by bribery. Certainly, he was very rich and very powerful. It was not wise to refuse an invitation from such a man, or to fail to follow his admitedly eccentric instructions for the ball.

The men could either wear military formal clothes (if they held military rank) or modified aristocratic garb. In either case, their shirt was to be open and its collar removed. Their hair was to be kept off the neck, and their neck was to be bare except for a blood red ribbon, a mock line of blood where a guillotine's blade would fall.

33 men gathered at a public park, one their host had clearly paid a fortune to have reserved for his use that night. But this was not where the ball was held.

To reach the ball, the men had to get into a cart, the kind of cart that had carried victims to the guillotine. The cart provided for them had clearly been used to do just that. Their host's men gave each guest a ribbon, instructing them to fasten it to one wrist and to take up the slack with their opposite hand, holding their arms behind their backs, as if bound. Once all the guests were in the cart and had done as instructed with the ribbons, a dark cloth was dropped over the cagelike structure of the cart, leaving all within unable to see.

The cart drove for a time. When it stopped, the men entered a great hall by one side, walking single file down a staircase as each was announced. 33 women did the same at the opposite stairway. The men had blue and gold ribbons around their wrist, the royalist colors. The women had red, white, and blue ribbons, the revolutionary colors.

Giselle: You were right!

All but one of the women had a blood red ribbon around their neck. The exception was Carine, who had a black lace collar on which lay rubies, gleaming as if they were drops of blood.

Each side's escort consisted of four men in black, executioner robes. The names of the guests were read from two black scrolls with gold lettering.

In the center of the dance floor was an elevated guillotine, on a platform with exactly 13 steps. The blade was razor sharp, and its edge was gilded with a thin layer of gold.

Some of the women dropped the loose end of their ribbon, "releasing" their arms. D'Arcy did the same, earning a sharp rebuke from Philippe.

Phillipe: Oh, for heaven's sake, man, just think of it as parade rest.

GM: Actually, that's a good way to think of it.

Reassured, if embarrassed, D'Arcy went back to "parade rest" mock bondage as unseen musicians played music for the first dance. The lines rearranged themselves as people jockeyed for desired partners.

D'Arcy danced with a woman named Dandre. Chretien, though getting on in years, demonstrated his own sprightliness on the dance floor, possibly with Carine. Gisselle danced nervously with her partner, hoping that he would not realize that she had written Certain Pamphlets.

The gm had Giselle's player make a luck roll, and he rolled quite well. Giselle had found the closest thing to an anarchistic nobleman possible at that gathering. He was also one of the four male guests permitted to carry a sword, due to his rank in the cavalry. Philippe was another such man.

D'Arcy and Chretien daringly whirled their partners close to the platform with the guillotine. And here I spied the second reason for the slow start.

There were many NPCs, and players wanted their PCs to speak to some, particularly dance partners. The place was large, and some people wanted their PCs to explore. There was, as yet, no coherent "group" of PCs. This all meant that the GM often had a line of players waiting for his attention.

It was almost like the pile up one can get in a larp -- and I think Victims' Ball would make a good larp. One would have to add more PCs for a larp, and perhaps staff playing NPCs. This would reduce some of the demand on the gm's time.

D'Arcy asked Dandre about how the women were brought to the ball. It was much the same, except that, instead of a cloth over the cart, they blindfolded each other, and instead of tying on their ribbons themselves, the Comte's men did it for them.

D'Arcy: They actually laid hands on you? How rude!

Dandre (clearly delighted): Oh yes!

D'Arcy let his hands roam, and Dandre permitted this. The two retired to one of the private spots under the stairs whose existence the gm had pointed out earlier.

Meanwhile, Giselle and her dance partner discussed the guillotine and the emotions it roused.

Anarchist noble: Fear is a good thing. It keeps people from being complacent.

As the first dance ended, music which D'Arcy thought nearly Haitian signaled that food, served buffet style, was ready. (D'Arcy knew very little about Haitian culture, his interactions with the natives being limited to shooting them or being shot at by them.)

There was a tremendous variety of food, including some unknown dishes of still living creatures. D'Arcy avoided these, but spoke to an older woman who saught them out. She figured she should concentrate on the most unique dishes.

D'Arcy tried to flirt with her, saying that, while Dandre was a lovely girl, he was glad to see that the Comte had invited some women as well. She recognized the flattery for what it was. While not swayed by it, she appreciated it.

Philippe introduced himself to D'Arcy.

Philippe (with no preamble, almost his signature line): I am Philippe.

They agreed that the party was quite strange and the guests fairly vulnerable. D'Arcy agreed to moderate his behavior and avoid seeking companionship under the stairs. He met Chretien and Carine.

Carine had been granted permission to wear her unusual neck piece by the Comte, who had given her the rubies which adorned it. She had not been privy to his plans for the ball or the costumes.

The Comte himself now made an appearance. He was costumed as Louis IX, also known as St. Louis. He wore a royal robe in revolutionary colors. He was the only person in the room with the neck covered, wearing no ribbon, but rather, a fur collar.

He was accompanied by a woman wearing a white dress that ended in almost a miniskirt. Her hair was cut short, and she wore a green ribbon around her neck. We all dubbed her The Woman in Not Quite Enough White.

The Comte claimed Carine as his partner, his voice like honey dripped over a rock. Unsure whether he wanted to kiss or to strike his host, D'Arcy instead asked The Woman in Not Quite Enough White to dance. She agreed.

Both Carine and D'Arcy were drained of a magic point.

D'Arcy learned that his companion was Linda. She was from Holland, though her father was from England.

He complimented her on her dress, but her expression made it clear that it had been chosen for her and was not what she had chosen to wear. She was clearly unhappy.

D'Arcy: If you could be anywhere in the world, where would you wish to be?

The Woman in Not Quite Enough White moved close to him, her lips brushing his ears as onlookers wondered if the man from Languedoc was about to vanish under the stairs with his partner for the second time that night.

Linda: Dead.

I blew a SAN roll, and D'Arcy's sudden recoil from his partner was obvious to all watching. Linda moved to the buffet, turning her entire torso when one might have expected her just to turn her head. She put some food on her plate, but did not actually eat it.

D'Arcy spoke with many of the other PCs, exchanging knowledge with Carine, Chretien, Philippe, and Apicello.

His take on Linda was that the Comte was somehow forcing her to be his mistress. These things happened, and D'Arcy knew better than to raise a fuss about it, though he told Carine that he thought it a pity that the Comte chose to force a woman when there were clearly many who would have been delighted to receive his attention. He gave no credence to a theory someone suggested, that the green ribbon was the only thing keeping Linda's head on.

Carine spoke of how she had felt oddly drained after her dance with the Comte. She also warned D'Arcy that Dandre had not been pleased to see him dancing with Linda. D'Arcy meant to speak with Dandre about this, but never got the chance.

Someone, I think one of the women, had explored other rooms, discovering a sort of outdoor grotto with a very disturbing statue, and a room with a carpet showing a map of the world. The map / carpet seemed to undulate weirdly if one looked at it for any length of time.

D'Arcy tried to go exploring, but I blew a stealth role, so he was intercepted by the servants. He pretended to be looking for a place to relieve himself, and they pretended to believe him.

Meanwhile, Carine, Giselle, and, Amorette went to the women's room, looking to see if it had windows that would allow them to leave unobserved. It did not. Amorette used her sewing scissors to cut a strip off the bottom of her dress so that she could tie it around her neck. Carine insisted on hemming the dress and using rosewater to make the cloth smell better. Carine then did the same for Giselle and for herself.

Alas, this did not work. Servants in black robes confronted each woman separately, gesturing for the scarves. The women protested, but ultimately capitulated, handing the cloth over.

Chretien had some private conversation with the Comte.

Comte: You have no idea how lucky you are tonight.

I guessed, correctly, that this had to be bad news for the rest of the folks at the party.

Giselle asked Amorette to get her out of the party. Amorette agreed, but warned that the price would be high. Giselle agreed to pay it.

I think the two women found the disturbing statue, which I believe was of Dagon. Certainly, Amorette lead Giselle in praising Dagon. Smuggler or not, the sea captain's daughter was aware of his worship. As I understand it, while Amorette was willing to exempt Giselle's anarchist noble from being given to Dagon, Giselle was quite willing to sacrifice the man, if it were necessary. However, when she learned the true nature of what Dagon required, she recoiled. I'm not sure what it was that she found too high a price to pay, as I did not overhear the whole sequence.

Meanwhile, the Comte got the attention of all assembled. He spoke of how there were 33 men and women as guests. Yet, two of the women, namely Giselle and Amorette, were absent. This he had not planned for, and Aimee Apicello felt the spell that the Comte was casting crack.

Unfortunately, the Comte quickly recovered, and, where he had referred to "these 33 men and 33 women", he now referred to "these assembled men and women", and the spell continued.

The Comte asked Chretien to select one of the women. A couple were extremely eager to be chosen, and one or two were both desirous of and terrified of being chosen. Linda turned away, leaning her head against the wall.

Chretien selected Carine, earning the Comte's approval. Her arms were bound behind her back, and she was blindfolded and led up the steps to the guillotine, and made to kneel with her head below the blade. The Comte said that she would become immortal, although it wasn't clear whether he meant in the flesh or as a work of art.

Carine wondered aloud if this was how her father had felt before he had been decapitated, and spoke of her love for France. The player did an excellent job of getting the intonation just right -- just a little breathless, not sure of exactly how scared to be.

The Comte shushed Carine and put a flower in her mouth, instructing her to bite down on it. She did so.

The GM played scrupulously fair, making sure those still in the room had an opportunity to take action. Aimee pulled the ribbon off Linda's neck. Linda's head fell off her shoulders and on to the ground, startling most of the people at the party. It also startled me out of character. I really hadn't seen that one coming.

As D'Arcy and Philippe realized that the Comte really was mad enough to kill one of his guests, they ran through their all too limited options. Could they actually reach Carine in time? Or was the only answer to throw something?

GM: You'd have to throw something.

Someone: Like the head!

Philippe picked up Linda's head and threw it, but to no avail. The blade came down, decapitating Carine. The gm took the player aside, and, as far as I can tell, explained to him that Carine was aware of what was going on, but couldn't speak. He also gave the player a chip for about 500 Rogue Cthulhu points for being an amazingly good sport about all of this.

Four women clad in nigh sheer samite white cloth, with green ribbons around their necks, emerged from the top of a staircase. They descended, carrying a chair on which was a green ribbon. Philippe and D'Arcy dove for the ribbon.

At this point, all hell broke loose. Philippe could not get through the crowd. D'Arcy grabbed the ribbon, only to fall victim to the Comte's foul magic, which lifted him up into the air, squeezing the breath out of him. Amorette and Giselle appeared from nowhere, arguing furiously with each other.

Amorette: You shouldn't have asked! I -told- you what the price would be. I didn't lie to -you-!

Philippe was blocked by fellow officer D'Lambert. Philippe drew his sword.

D'Lambert: Do you really want to do this?

Philipe: I know how you got your commission!

D'Lambert, who had gotten it by paying for it, drew his own blade, and the duel commenced, with Philippe getting far the worse of it.

I blew a SAN roll and made an Idea roll for D'Arcy. The man from Languedoc suddenly understood that his best chance was to tie the green ribbon around his own neck. This he did, and he was instantly released from the spell.

Giselle made her way to her anarchist nobleman.

Giselle's player: I reach for his sword.

GM: He puts a hand on it, and reaches behind his back, and hands you a pistol.

Me: Now -that-'s a gentleman!

Giselle's player: I was about to say!

Giselle fired at the Comte, as Amorette picked up a chair and whacked D'Lambert with it.

GM (to Giselle): For all the pamphlets you've written, urging people to take up guns, you've never actually fired one. Or shot a man in the face.

Player: Do I have to make a SAN check?

GM: Hell, yes!

Meanwhile, Chretien told D'Arcy to hand over the green ribbon. D'Arcy protested that Carine needed it. Chretien agreed. D'Arcy didn't trust Chretien, believing (incorrectly) that he'd been bewitched by the Comte. D'Arcy wanted to tie on Carine's head himself. Alas, the Comte had the head and was on top of the platform with the guillotine.

Chretien used his full aristocratic presence to tell D'Arcy to hand over the ribbon lest he face pain the likes of which he had never dreamed. D'Arcy refused to hand the ribbon over. Chretien blasted him with a Shrivelling spell. D'Arcy fell, and Chretien retrieved the ribbon.

Me: From my cooling corpse.

Chretien's Player: It wasn't burned.

Me: From my blackened corpse.

Actually, though I hadn't realized it, D'Arcy wasn't yet dead, just unconscious. And, as Chretien's player noted, D'Arcy's body was Shrivelled, not blackened.

Amorette defeated D'Lambert in a very dirty fight, with the crowd not pleased that D'Lambert was swinging at a girl, and that the girl was swinging a chair. This just wasn't elegant dueling.

Chretien tied Carine's head back on her body with the green ribbon, and helped her rise, whole and, apparently, sound.

Carine: Stop the madness! It was all an illusion! I'm fine!

Giselle protested that all was not well, and that it was not an illusion. And so there was a sudden, unexpected Oratory contest in the midst of chaos. Carine swayed the crowd, at least for the moment.

However, Giselle's bullet had struck the Comte, and Aimee had used her own magic to attack him before she was knocked out by his and Chretien's magic. I'm not sure I've got all the details correct here -- things were wonderfully chaotic at this point.

GM: What's left of the Count's face melts. The count is a muscled humanoid blob.

By now, Giselle had her aristocrat's saber.

Comte: Do we finish this?

Giselle (in shock): No! No!

Playing that kind of shock can be hard. The temptation is to have one's PC be cool.

The sight of the Comte in his true form panicked the crowd. People ran for the exits. The doctor, Guy Pierre, stabilized Philippe, and helped him and Amorette to escape.

Giselle, though thoroughly shaken, decided to make a final, desperate attack on the Comte. Her anarchist noble looked at her, admiring her bravery, and silently indicated the ropes holding the chandelier.

Anarchist noble: Take him!

He dove for the Comte, ready to die to buy Giselle her chance.

GM: Does he get that lucky? (making a luck roll for the noble) 03

He ruled that the Comte used his magic to blast the man backwards just as Giselle cut the rope holding up the chandelier.

Me: Go love!

The chandelier came down, killing the Comte. It also killed D'Arcy and Aimee, who saw in the Comte what she might have become had she continued down whatever dark path had tempted her.

Giselle and her anarchist noble kissed.

Giselle: That was my very first kiss.

GM: If you want to live to get a second kiss, you should both start running now.

They did, and escaped, along with Guy, Amorette, and Philippe.

Chretien also escaped, thoroughly delighted by what he had learned that evening. He would carry on the Comte's tradition of hosting parties like this.

Chretien: I'll make de Sade look like a child!

Some of what was really going on:

The Comte was not human. He had held three parties before this one, but only one had involved killing and reanimating a woman. He had actually done this to several women, including Linda, and he had hoped to add Carine to his harem.

GM: It's wonderful, at first. But, after a month, it's unending agony.

The connection between the head and the rest of the body was broken, so the women with green ribbons could not eat or drink, like the ghost pirates in The Curse of the Black Pearl. And they couldn't really feel pleasure. Carine's player said that so long as Carine still retained her skill with needle and thread, which the gm said she would, life would be bearable.

Chretien was not human either. The gm had not expected him to make common cause with the Comte. And, while the Comte had indeed hoped that Chretien would choose Carine, the gm gave the player no hint of this. Chretien had not been bewitched at all.

The women most eager or afraid of being selected had been to the party where the Comte used the guillotine. One woman in particular was disappointed not to be picked, for she feared she was losing her beauty.

Giselle's anarchist noble had been to two of the parties, but not to one where the Comte had killed a guest. He had expected this party to be like the others he'd attended, an orgy, if one with a heave S&M component. A guillotine in the middle of the room was amusing. But actually killing someone? That wasn't funny.

The doctor, Guy Pierre, had been able to escape the guillotine during the Terror because the door to his cell was left open. The Comte and his circle pulled strings to do that. The Comte was grooming the doctor to join his circle, but the doctor did not know this. I suspect the player felt a little at sea during the game, but I'm not sure.