CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

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...

The plot thickens considerably in Act Two as PCs search for more clues. Preparation: Scene I—Don’t Leave Town: The PCs learn of the children’s disappearance. The way they learn depends on the choices the PCs made in Act I. Make sure you are aware of the PC professions. Also make sure to plan what modifications, if any, you wish to make to the interactions described in the text. Scene II—At the Park: Familiarise with the park’s layout, PC options, and with the NPC actions and motivations. Scene III – Investigating Anika’s Home: Make sure the appropriate Player Handouts are available for Scene 3a. Ensure the PCs know what alternate form they will take (and if they will take on, at all), and what human disguises they will use for, the 6 th -Age Albion (Scene 3b) and 4 th -Age Keheb (Scene 3c). Basic lists of equipment and weapons might also be useful to have on hand. Scene IV – Investigating Leyila’s Home: Make sure the appropriate Player Handouts are available f...

Act One is done, and it’s time to hand out the rewards. Tomorrow, we'll move on to Act Two. Suggested Rewards for Act One Game Masters should use the following as a guideline. No doubt your players will take actions that should earn them other rewards that can be added to the baseline below. Make sure you note any of these as you go. Adventure Points: Scene 1 Nil Scene 2 Defeating the Imps & Scorpions: 1 heritage AP Scene 3 +1 humanity AP for p articipating in any 2 of the following sections: (i)                  Speaking with the Children; (ii)                Following the Children or Their Fathers Home; (iii)              Following the LN7 Operatives; (iv)            ...

Freeman’s Choice. This science-fiction-fantasy blend took me twenty years to complete, as I tried to do the ‘sensible’ thing, and ‘get a “real” job’. Now, it seems I am doing the sensible thing, and this novel will see the light of day, but should it see the light of day? If I were starting out in this crazy career, just this minute, in this new world of publishing options, it would have seen the light of day without twenty-six years of experience behind it. When it hits the shelves, it will be the best story it can be, and I can’t do better than that. Will the next one be better? Well, I’ve been writing for six more years since I finished this one, so there will be a difference. But will it be better or worse? I always work towards better, but every reader decides for themselves, and our opinions don’t always align. There are some stories I don’t particularly enjoy writing, or that I enjoy but I don’t think will find an audience, and the readers love them—and there are o...

Yesterday, I gave you the options for direct interactions with the family and the park environs. Today, I’ll give you the parts for dealing with LN7 and the Gehenna Consortium. Following the LN7 Operatives: as those operatives leave the family house means that the operatives stop at a local pub, bar, coffee-house, or restaurant, where PCs are able to approach and speak to them. They look like ordinary Joes—her with denim jeans, heavy cotton t-shirt with a dolphin scene printed on the front, him in a work suit without the jacket. And they brought the dog. The dog is an Alsatian, some German Shepherd sort of thing, but fluffy and way too alert. The other patrons in here are giving it a wide berth. As you approach the happy grin on its face disappears, its jaws snap shut, and it becomes very still. As if aware the sudden tension in the air will draw more attention than he’d like, the guy in the half suit waves you over. “It’s about time you got here.” The people aroun...