Planning now begins for Chapter 3. As stated in my commentary for chapter 2, I’m planning to have Lee sit this one out – originally, he wasn’t even supposed to show up in Clean Slate at all, but since he’s basically just going to sit outside an office while Lady Aoibheal bargains with a lawyer … well, that isn’t very exciting so…
Anyway, the following is basically what I’ve now got in mind for chapter three.
Scene 1 will pick up with the OSBI guys (plus ATF gal.) The way I ended it is with a bad guy hurling a backpack thing from the 1/2 bath toward ATF Agent Moretti (just inside the Entry at the bottom of the map below.) Lee and Woo are to the left, just inside that kitchen area, wrestling with a downed shooter. When I pick it up, Jack – who has Enhanced Time Sense – will be able to see that the backpack isn’t all that was thrown as there is also a grenade-like thing. The backpack hits first – there is the sound of glass shattering followed by a great RIPPING noise that echoes strangely and shakes the walls – then, the grenade hits. It is actually a flash-bang (HT-5 aff (10 yd.) – fail equals Stun, must roll against HT-5 each second to recover. Also creates smoke in the area of effect. Smoke is covered in B439, but is basically HT check after 10 seconds or Affliction (Coughing) which is -3 to DC and -1 to IQ.) They will also hear a hideous scream (Fright Check at -0) before a … thing seems to crawl out of the backpack … and this thing is far too large to actually fit in the backpack. Seeing this thing requires another Fright Check, this time at -2. I’m going to use a modified version of the Sphere of Madness from DF:Monsters 1 as this creature (basically going to improve the DR to 8.) It has Vibration Sense which renders Jack’s cloak ineffective against it. Since I expect the HT-5 from the flashbang to briefly incapacitate the PCs, it will take several seconds for the thing to pull itself out of the Nevernever.
Near the end of this combat, there should be another RIPPING sound from the Master Bedroom followed by a woman’s scream and PC(s) who rush to investigate will find an open Tear in reality. Jack has seen this before – it’s a portal to the Nevernever, he thinks – but Woo has not (so Woo needs to make another Fright Check; ignore any results greater than 12.) The portal shrinks rapidly, collapsing before the PCs can go through, but a successful PER check (Jack succeeds automatically due to Enhanced Time Sense) allows them to recognize a distinctive sign: it is the Sweet Tooth manufacturing plant (aka the recently purchased and refurbed Compass Manufacturing plant.) There is no sign of the screamer, which PCs should take to mean that a hostage has been taken through. Also? All (but one) of the hostages who were kept in the Master Bath have been killed. Missing is Audrey Petersen, the wife of the professor who owned the penthouse…
Scene 2 will then jump to Colin as he is Chased through the Nevernever by three Lofas (aka Ogres.) Running a chase is fairly straightforward, but I’m going to be trying to make things … weird as this chase transpires. Colin has been told that he needs to enter “the City Below and go to the Lake of Shadows. Cross it and proceed on to the King’s Gate.” so ideally, I’d like to have him reach this Gate at the end of this sequence. Best option would be for the Lofas to surround him as he does so, which leaves him (seemingly) in dire straits for next week. I’ll probably have the other players run the three Pursuers and make rolls/decisions for them.
Scene 3 is Sofia’s time to kick ass. She and Auric will be leaving Neutral Grounds when a trio of Red Court vampires attempt to ambush them because they’re digging into crap they shouldn’t be. I say “trio” but honestly, it’s actually just a pair as two of them concentrate on Sofia while the third goes after Auric. Normally, I’d have the other players handle the vampires, but this time, I’m going to use the peanut gallery to come up with events to happen during the fight that complicates it for either / both sides. Since Sofia is a Weirdness Magnet, I want to have them help me play this up. At this point in the planning stage, I don’t know what the “big cliffhanger ending” is yet, but I’m hoping to figure that out over this coming week. Whatever it is, it needs to be a strong ending…
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