Episode 14: First Morning in Arkham

[Mushgnome]

Episode 14: First Morning in Arkham

April 17 on Hill Street in Arkham. The party has defeated a wandering party of Deep One Cultists, killed the Deep Ones and one of their sympathizers, and taken two prisoners: riverboat pilot Destroying Angel and fish-man fiancee [green]Parsley Green[/green], deemed too dangerous to catch-and-release.

The Vociferous Bastard from Innsmouth has followed the commotion down to the beaver pond. He calls down from the embankment: "Ahoy there! What a mess; my nice clean beaver pond! My morning bath is ruined. [He winks at Shade.] What you need here is a 'Cleaner' to make this corpse problem go away. I don't want to brag, but I had a little bit of a reputation back home... Let me grab some tools from the shed; I think I can take it from here..."

He turns his attention to the prisoners. "I know this cat. His rep's solid up in Innsmouth. It's said he knows the swamps like the back of his hand, and asks no questions. That green woman on the other hand, never heard of her. If you like I can ask certain 'connections' what we can do with her? Here's the keys to the 'guest accommodations' down in the west wing cellar." [He tosses the cell keys to Fated.]

[kipper]

Breath of New Moon will collect up all the items scattered by the green woman, and try to work out what exactly their function might be.

[Mushgnome]

Feb 26, 2012 11:13:38 GMT -6 kipper said:

Breath of New Moon will collect up all the items scattered by the green woman, and try to work out what exactly their function might be.

To make a long story short, further investigation reveals that the equipment in the cellar was used for fermentation and bottling of cider from the orchard. The Deep Ones were in the process of scavenging motors, copper wiring, gears, valves, control panels, and other spare parts, for whatever nefarious purpose...

[waysoftheearth]

Back at the house, Gunnery makes sure his injury is properly cleaned and rinsed with alcohol, then covered with clean fabric. It simply wouldn't do to get a nasty infection.

[Mushgnome]

Feb 26, 2012 21:03:05 GMT -6 waysoftheearth said:

Back at the house, Gunnery makes sure his injury is properly cleaned and rinsed with alcohol, then covered with clean fabric. It simply wouldn't do to get a nasty infection.

Gunnery finds that the alcohol rinse helps the itching quite a bit. There are a half-dozen reddish welts or blisters about the size of a small coin. [OOC: I will leave it to you to decide whereabouts the rash is on Gunnery's body.]

[crusssdaddy]

Fated: "Destroying Angel, collect your belongings. You are free to go. Speak not of what happened here. Someday we shall come to collect on the favor of sparing your life.

"Parsley Green, this basement shall be your home for a little while longer. These bindings shall encourage you to stay.

"Vociferous, take care of your cleaning. When you're done, return to watch the girl and we shall depart upon business in town."

[kipper]

"Well then, we are head into town?" Breath asks, stripping off her armour and donning her leather gear. "I should like to see what the University may have for employment opportunities."

[ehiker133]

The Shade likewise puts on his "public" clothes for a trip to the university.

[Mushgnome]

Destroying Angel bows, gives Fated his business card, and begins preparing the hovercraft for departure.

[green]Parsley[/green] protests this indignity, but what can she do? Soon, your prisoner is secure in the holding cell.

Bastard heads down to the east cellar (where the Deep One corpses are) with a hacksaw, trash bags, and a bottle of bleach. "Might not want to come down here for a while!" he calls.

I will assume that anyone heading into town is wearing street clothes (light/leather) and carrying concealed weapons, unless you specifically state otherwise (keeping in mind, if you do so, you may be harassed by law enforcement).

Is everyone going to Miskatonic University, or do some of you have a separate agenda?

[ehiker133]

Feb 27, 2012 14:46:14 GMT -6 Mushgnome said:

... or do some of you have a separate agenda?

hehe...

Um, I mean...

Nope, no separate agendas going on here! Just need to find someone trustworthy at the University is all. Shouldn't be difficult, right?

Right?

[Mushgnome]

So Breath, Shade, and Minion are heading to Miskatonic University; how about Fated and Gunnery?

[crusssdaddy]

Fated will tag along to the U. He puts someone (Vociferous? Teamsters?) in charge of procuring his needs, as detailed in the OOC thread.

[waysoftheearth]

Gunnery will go shopping for a telescope to have fitted in the cupola.

He will keep an eye out for luxuries such as a hammock, first aid kit, pillow, blanket and so on which might make his life more comfortable.

Also, if there is any such thing, he looks around for a wireless or radio transmitter of any sort (or any other equipment for to re-establishing "contact").

[Mushgnome]

The party sets off to explore the famed Miskatonic University. Once you are down from the hill, you pass through a student/residential neighborhood with plenty of drinking establishments, cheap eats, and discount book/variety/furniture/supply stores. You make a few purchases (as you indicated), which you arrange to be delivered to the house.

The campus itself is unusually festive on this warm spring morning. Scantily-clad students of all colors and genders are relaxing in the quadrangle, flirting, laughing, and playing games of hip-hoop, flying-disk, and juggle-sack. Ah, the innocence of youth! Do they not realize that the mystic secrets cataloged on their library shelves could obliterate the campus in a heartbeat?

The library is a windowless spire, the tallest building on campus. The sorcerous among you are disappointed to discover the library is not open to the public; it is heavily guarded and only those with the proper academic credentials are allowed to enter. The guard directs you to the Museum, which is one of the few public buildings on campus.

Daily admission is 1sp; annual membership is 20sp (or more, depending on level of patronage). The museum is divided into the following wings: Art, Anthropology, Archeology, Natural History, Science & Technology, and The Cosmos (with planetarium). The basement holds the offices of Acquisitions and Expeditions.

Here's how it works: Let me know which Wing you want to visit. I will make a Int check to determine if you learn an interesting fact. (If you have a specific topic/question you wish to research, the check might be more difficult. If your research is secret, you may PM me.)

And of course some of you might not want to spend this beautiful day in the museum; this is a sandbox campaign after all...

[ehiker133]

The Shade suggests everyone pay for an annual membership.

He also suggests individuals spend the remaining morning/part of the afternoon researching whatever they want to research, but that the group meets back up at a designated time (3 PMish?) in the basement to see what the current need is in Acquisitions and Expeditions.

The Shade will begin his general searching in the Anthropology wing. He will focus on local information, specifically anything to do with interactions with the Deep Ones.

As an aside... what would it take to become a student at the University?

[Mushgnome]

As you enter the Museum, you bump into Drosophila and Malleable Teamster, who have just finished making a delivery. They are pleasantly surprised you made it through the night and inquire if you have need of their services, perhaps carting some of your junk off to the dump? They also mention they are friends with several craftsmen and laborers, if you need their help organizing a work crew...

Feb 28, 2012 14:12:38 GMT -6 ehiker133 said:

As an aside... what would it take to become a student at the University?

I'm not sure he would pass the physical but the University does have an Admissions office where one might inquire about such things. Going to college would certainly be a fun and unexpected twist to the campaign!

Also to clarify, there are two separate offices downstairs: Acquisitions (selling/donating valuable items to the Museum) and Expeditions (self-explanatory).

[crusssdaddy]

Fated goes to the Art Wing, with eyes and mind wide open. If he learns something, he will find a curator to discuss making a donation of his great wealth and becoming a patron of the arts. If he doesn't learn anything, then the museum don't get sh!t.

[Mushgnome]

Shade passes his Int check and gains a general knowledge of Deep One lore. Everything in the wikipedia article is now known to him in-character (excepting statements that obviously don't fit the campaign setting, like "the U.S. government torpedoed Devil's Reef in 1928"):

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_One

Furthermore he learns the specific detail that the small, unnamed island in the Miskatonic has been the meeting place for a cult of Deep One sympathizers since the founding of Arkham.

Fated visits the Art wing and is impressed by the ghastly miniature tableaux of John Kenn:

johnkenn.blogspot.com/

He makes his Int check and gains the following benefit: He is guaranteed to pass his next saving throw vs. monster-induced fear/insanity, as the drawings have slightly desensitized him to the macabre. (I assume his next stop is the Membership desk to become a generous museum Patron? Is he still dressed incognito as a farmer, or something a bit more glam?)

Gunnery has indicated by PM that he will not be joining you at the Museum (off on some secret mission). I guess that leaves Breath and Minion? (I bet I can guess where Minion is headed!)

[kipper]

Breath will pay for an annual membership. She will first go investigate the Archaeology wing.

[Mushgnome]

Breath visits the Archeology Wing and learns the shocking truth about humanity:

Long ago, a race of power-hungry Snake Men invented Sorcery. To fuel their horrific Rituals, they genetically engineered the 13 races or colors of Man. The sacrifice of each color is pleasing (or displeasing) to certain corresponding Old Ones, and the Snake Men manipulated this knowledge to summon and bind these powerful entities to their service. They crushed their enemies and became the rulers over the world, but in the end their knowledge destroyed them, and their 13 slave-races found themselves masterless in a harsh and unforgiving world, where for thousands of years they have lived in small, isolated communities, mistrustful of the other races for fear of becoming sacrifices.

The Green Men of the Arkham/Kingsport/Innsmouth region believe that they were the favored of the Snake Men slave races, and that through technology, exploration, colonization, and exponential population growth, the Green Men will unite the world under the enlightened leadership of [green]King Sally Green[/green].

[crusssdaddy]

Fated is dressed right spiff, having dressed in some of the new clothes he bought along the way.

Fated inquires at the Membership desk and holds out to speak to the highest-ranking curator that will see him. Art is discussed. Fated makes it clear that a big donation is in the offing... and maybe the museum would reciprocate this gift by giving him a crack at some of the more lucrative expeditions that are typically withheld from the riff-raff.

[kipper]

If there is still time before the afternoon meeting, Breath will peruse the Science & Technology section. She finds herself strangely attracted to the contraptions of the Green Men.

(EDIT: Um, that last sentence sounds just wrong, that's not the way I meant it LOL ;D)

[Mushgnome]

Fated, I am finalizing some information about the various Expeditions that are currently available [any requests? ], will post that soon.

Breath is fascinated by the Sci/Tech wing. She learns that the Green Men are on the cusp of an industrial revolution into what I can best describe as a "Lovecraftian New England Steampunk" tech level. Gadgets such as monorails, dirigibles, steamships, telegraphs, and electric lights have recently been invented (but are obscenely rare/expensive; the average citizen of Arkham earning 100sp/month still cooks their chowder on a wood or coal stove, and dines by the light of whale-oil, as in the olden days).

There are also a few examples in the Museum of mysterious super-high-tech items, which nobody really understands. They seem divided into two categories: sleek, shiny, metallic artifacts that appear well-proportioned for human hands (1950s sci fi) vs. bizarre, twisted, surreal objects with no conceivable function (HR Giger).

Breath fails her Int check [distracted by Green Man contraptions perhaps?] and so this is all she learns.

[ehiker133]

When he has completed his research, The Shade makes his way to the Expeditions department in the basement and quietly waits for the rest of the team (sans Gunnery).

[Mushgnome]

I think I will divide the expeditions into two categories:

Request for Proposal (RFP): The University sets an expedition objective (collect specimens of a species, map a region, bring back an artifact, etc). If you think you can achieve this objective, submit a proposal explaining how you will do it, how long you think it will take, and how much you expect to be paid on completion of the mission. If your proposal is accepted, then you are responsible for up-front expenses, equipment, hiring, etc. out of your own pocket. The University pays the agreed amount on the successful return of the Expedition.

Recruiting: A proposal has already been accepted, and the expedition leader is hiring mercenaries/laborers/scientists/etc. as sub-contractors. You'd be paid a daily/weekly/monthly salary, and don't have to worry about logistics.

Expeditions don't necessarily pay that well, however, you're typically allowed to keep anything you find that is not related to the mission. And of course you can earn many XP and build a relationship with the University; for example Expedition Leaders are allowed access to the Library for planning purposes....

Stay tuned for The List.

[Mushgnome]

Miskatonic University Expedition Office

The following are currently accepting proposals:

Bridgewater Triangle 70 miles southwest of Arkham in the Swamp of Spirits. Obtain the large stone Head of Massasoit for the Museum.
Lich Island 1,500 miles to the south in coastal waters. Gather grave rubbings and prepare a detailed genealogical report on the uninhabited island's former inhabitants.
Sunken City #187 600 miles to the east in open waters. Salvage ancient artifacts from this underwater archaeological site.
Fungoid Gardens of the Bone Sorcerer, location unknown. Find the Gardens and obtain botanical specimens of the fungus unique to this site.

The following have already been assigned a Leader and are recruiting expedition members (durations are estimates, but establish the minimum salary the Leader must pay):

d**ned Isles a 1-year expedition, recruiting sailors.
The Monolith a 6-month expedition, recruiting slaves and slave masters.
Blighted Lands a 6-month expedition, recruiting scholars and mercenaries.
CLASSIFIED a 1-month opportunity for experienced combat veterans only at 2x standard mercenary pay.

[crusssdaddy]

[OOC: Bridgewater Triangle sounds like a nice, get-our-feet-wet kinda gig.]

[ehiker133]

OOC: I concur, though... joining the six month Monolith stint as a slave DOES sound tempting!

[Mushgnome]

OOC: For the longer expeditions we can skip over the boring parts, especially if you are working for a 3rd-party expedition Leader, for example: "You sail for a month until you reach the coast of ___ and earn 63sp as a sailor."

Here is some background info on Bridgewater Triangle, but your PC's don't know this in-character until they research it: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridgewater_Triangle
This is what they want for the museum: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profile_Rock

ehiker... I just got a weird mental image of the Shade wearing slave sandals and loincloth!

[kipper]

OOC: I can foresee great logistical difficulties in getting the "large stone head" back to Arkham, we'd need a large team of slaves, probably a few quarrying specialists to free the head, and a large mercenary force to guard them all! Breath would prefer to hire on for the Blighted Lands project, so we can see how these types of things go down.