Babes in London: Act Two, Scene One (Don’t Leave Town)

SCENE ONE: DON’T LEAVE TOWN

This scene occurs before the PCs are able to investigate any further. You may need to alter the boxed text below to set the scene for the arrival of the police at the PC’s or PCs’ location. If the  PCs are sharing the same residence, you might want to have the police arrive on their doorstep in the morning. Tweak this encounter to suit.

If the PC has a background of: police, private investigator, or teacher and is at work:

The news was on your desk by the time you got to work, and the police were knocking on your door at five past nine that morning. The only nicety they offered was to speak to you privately. After that it was straight in with: “Where were you between eleven o’clock last night and five this morning?”

Not the most comforting phrase, given you don’t think you’ve done anything wrong.

 

Let the players play this out. If they’re police officers themselves, and prove to be reasonable, cooperative and persuasive, they may use Interaction to learn the following:

Interaction:

3                                The children have disappeared and they (the PCs) are prime suspects/witnesses as they
                     were one of the few people to see, and be seen with, the children just before the 
                     disappearance.

4                                As for TH 3 plus: The children were taken from their homes sometime between eleven 
                    p.m. and three a.m., and disappeared while under police guard. Also, some clothes and  
                    favorite toys have disappeared as well, and the PCs’ place, or places, of residence will 
                    be searched for these (voluntarily, or with a search warrant; PCs can choose).

5                                As for TH 3 and TH 4 plus: There are signs of a struggle at Anika’s house, and both 
                    Anika’s parents are missing. Strangely enough, none of the parents’ clothing or       
                    belongings are missing as well.

If they are reasonable, cooperative and persuasive, and belong to one of the other professions listed below, they can gain the above information at one TH higher. For example, the information listed at TH 5 above is obtained at TH 6.

General Notes: In addition, if the PC’s interaction test results in a TH 4, or higher, regardless of which of the listed professions they are, they are treated more like witnesses than suspects. At TH 4, they are also asked to help police in a minor way such as keeping ‘an ear to the ground’, or having ‘a quiet word’ to their colleagues/contacts, or ‘anyone who might have heard, sir’.

If PCs are cooperative, and of a criminal or homeless background: they are told of the children’s disappearance and ordered not to leave town. They are also asked to report anything they remember that might help with the case. If the PC wishes to obtain any of the information listed for police, teachers, or private investigators, their TH is three greater than the TH listed for PCs with a police background. The same applies to the TH listed in ‘General Notes’ above.

If PCs are cooperative and not one of the above professions: they are treated much the same as the homeless person or criminal, except with a lot more respect. Their TH targets are only two greater than those listed for PCs with a police background; the same applies to the TH listed in ‘General Notes’ above.

If PCs act aggressively and/or uncooperatively: (regardless of their background or profession), they will be treated like suspects, and the police dealing with them begin to privately consider that they did kidnap the children. Aggressive behaviour is also noted by LN7, and added to that organization’s notes on the character/s. Uncooperative PCs find themselves under constant surveillance until the girls are found. Stupendously uncooperative or aggressive PCs may find themselves imprisoned for 24 hours while the police try to find evidence to hold them for longer.

 If PCs are asked to help: they will not be given written authorization, but are given the card of the officer in charge of the investigation. This card can be used in situations where PCs face obstruction by police officials who are only doing their duty. When presented with this card, the police officer involved can call the officer in charge and gain permission for PCs to continue their own investigations.

 

After the Police Leave: allow the PCs to continue with their own investigations into the children. If the PCs do not wish to investigate the children’s whereabouts, have them attacked by the Servants of Set once more. If they defeat the Servants of Set, they find a scrap of paper with Anika Collins’ address on it. This should lead them to the Collins house (Scene 3), more evidence of the Setites’ activities, and hopefully, back into the adventure. If it doesn’t, you may have to improvise a different adventure for them. If the PCs do wish to investigate the children’s disappearance, they have the following choices:

Going to the Park: If the PCs go to the park, go to Scene 2.

Going to Anika Collins’ House: If the PCs go to Anika’s house, go to Scene 3. (NOTE: It may not be possible for PCs to investigate both Anika’s and Leyila’s homes in any one convention session so, while both have been included here, provisions have also been made in the running of Part 2 Little Girls Found for the investigation to be completed without one or the other being run.)
 
Going to Leyila Andrews’ House: If the PCs go to Leyila’s house, go to Scene 4. (NOTE: It may not be possible for PCs to investigate both Anika’s and Leyila’s homes in any one convention session so, while both have been included here, provisions have also been made in the running of Part 2 Little Girls Found for the investigation to be completed without one or the other being run.)

Contacting LN7: If the PCs contact LN7, they will be told to meet LN7 operatives at the park (Scene II).

Contacting the Gehenna Consortium: If the PCs contact the Gehenna Consortium, they will be told to meet Consortium operatives at the park (Scene II).

In addition, if the PCs have played The Fire Within, they may have the following options:

Contacting Emblae: If the PCs contact Emblae he is able to give them the following information about the Servants of Set: that they conduct their worship in scattered temples, that they seek to bind beings of power to their service through blood sacrifice, that the PCs defeated them long ago. As in The Fire Within, he relates this information as though speaking of a long ago dream. If the PCs press him for more information, he wanders off track, speaking to them about the wonders of Keheb and the intrigue to be found in its palaces. If asked where they should start looking, he rather acerbically tells the PCs that the best place to start is a place they already know to have links to the children.

Contacting the Fae of Haverhill: The fae know very little that can help the PCs. The Servants of Set did not invade their part of the forest, and the Seer of Cathach, although spoken of in awe, is nothing more than a being of legendary reputation to them.