What's Happening?

Whew! I've been gaming a lot.

A lot!

Well, a lot for me in comparison to last year at least. 

Most of it has been very fun too, and really, what more can you ask for?

At this point I figured I should update you all on what I'm doing, if for no other reason than to share the joy, and get some new content up on this blog for cripes sake! It's September 18th, and this is only my third post! Sheesh! 

Have no fear citizens, a meatier post is forthcoming. 

Most of the games I'm in, or running are bi-weekly, or monthly. Only the online Google Hangouts Kapow! Group (the one I am running DC Adventures for right now) meets every week.

Wait. That isn't exactly true. I meet with Dan's Group every Friday night (roughly), but we alternate games. 

Following our DC Adventures game, the Google Hangouts Kapow! Group will be doing a DC/Marvel Crossover, and then its back to our Kapow! campaign. 

Crisis on Earth G+

We've had three sessions so far, and everyone seems to be having a great time. I can tell you that I am. This mini-campaign is just my personal love letter to the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths, Silver/Bronze Age continuity of DC Comics. Getting the chance to do this is awesome, but knowing that my players appreciate the work I've put in is really icing on the cake. 

This week will feature the fourth part of our story, and a trip to World War II, and Golden Age DC! In addition to DC's WW II 'War Comics' heroes, such as Sgt. Rock, and Easy Company, G.I. Robot, and Jeb Stuart and The Haunted Tank, we'll get a guest appearance by the Earth-2 Justice Society of America! Woohoo! I can't wait.

Star Trek Adventures: Excalibur

Our new Google Hangouts group completed the adventure 'The Rescue at Xerxes IV' last week, and I must admit, it was really good. A fairly straight forward scenario, it was nonetheless an excellent introduction to the new Star Trek Adventures RPG. 

We are going forward with a mini-campaign, which may last no more than one additional adventure scenario, or it may continue onward. Lots of enthusiasm, but no pressure to commit to a tightly scheduled, long term game. 

We run this every two weeks, or so at a terribly late hour on Saturdays. 

The idea of using the Star Trek Adventures game to run a campaign based on 'The Orville' (which I touched on in my previous post) is one that keeps popping into my head. I am currently trying to rework the character sheets, and obtain as much information about the setting as possible, which isn't easy considering the series has only had two episodes at this point. 

My Hero Academia: American Ultra!

The Students of UA High School's Class 1-A

My Hero Academia

We've had three sessions of American Ultra, my homebrewed spin-off campaign based on the popular Japanese Anime/Manga series, My Hero Academia. 

So far it's been really great, with moments of WOW. It's some of the best GMing I've done in a long time, and I have the perfect group of players for it. Everyone, and everything just connects in a way that makes the game a pleasure to run, and the players have told me they love it.

The first two sessions had a nice mix of action, intrigue, humor, and world building. The third was much more focused on character development/role playing, investigation, and was a tad less funny, and action packed, but the players/PCs uncovered a bombshell reveal that had the team 'Holy Crap!'-ing all the way to the end. 

I'm pretty proud of that.

Next session is coming soon.

New Group - New Campaign - Villains & Vigilantes?

We played a super fun game of that Superhero RPG classic, Villains & Vigilantes last week, and are considering turning it into a campaign.

When I say we, I really mean myself, and two of my buddies. The third participant from our first foray won't be able to make it on a regular basis. Actually, it will be a rare occurrence if he can make it, which is too bad. He was a great guy to game with, and really rounded out the team.

While we had a great time, and I was flooded with nostalgia over the use of the very first Supers game I'd ever run, the loss of the third player and the fact that I am already running two Superhero campaigns has me wondering if this is a missed opportunity to run something else, like a Sci-Fi/Space Adventure game. 

More about this in my next post.

This group will also probably meet every two weeks, but I'm kind of running out of free days, and nights, so we'll play it by ear. 

Dan's Group - Alternating Games

Dan's Group meets at my friend Dan's house, and therefore we creatively refer to our entourage as 'Dan's Group'. Currently, Dan isn't GMing our Friday night games. That task is usually handled by my friend Alex, who is running a home-modified Powered by the Apocalypse 'Harry Potter/Hogwarts' game, or myself running...whatever. 

Whatever is a catch-all for the various games I start up with the group, run for a couple to several sessions, and then try to figure out what else might work better. Over the past year, or so this has included Ars Magica 3rd Ed., Champions 4th Ed., Marvel Heroic, Star Trek (LUG Version), and a number of others.

The problem is that games with the group never feel quite right to me. While we all get along and share similar interests, our playing and GMing styles are quite different, and even clash on occasion. The group is doing great with Alex's game, but every game I try feels either underwhelming, or annoying. 

I've yet to figure out what game works best with this assembly of gamers. 

I will keep trying of course. 

That's all for now. I have another post coming up very soon on some game ideas that have come to me of late. With any luck I can get this next entry out tonight.

Until then,

AD
Barking Alien

Red Skies and Floppy Disks

As my 40th Gaming Anniversary month draws to close, I am kind of amazed at how much of it I spent talking about, and playing Superhero RPGs.

It shouldn't come as a surprise really, for as I've said, Supers is what got me into RPGs in the first place (in a manner of speaking). It's just that, with a name like 'Barking Alien' you'd think there would be a bit more Science Fiction in my celebration of the 40 year mark. 

Furthermore, when I look at the general gaming landscape, how things like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and Numenera seem to dominate the market by leaps and bounds, I am once more reminded that is the bulk of the lot, the unifying factor, the common denominator...but it just ain't me.

This past Wednesday evening I ran the first session of my half of our Google Hangouts group's Ultra Mega Summer Super Crossover Event, DC Adventures - Crisis on Earth G+!

The first part, a Marvel Heroic mini-series, ended with a bit less bang, and a bit more whimper than we all would have liked. The Marvel Heroic system didn't turn out to be to most of the players' liking. Even, or perhaps especially the GM found the game cumbersome, and tedious, getting in the way of telling a Superhero comic book story instead of supporting, and enhancing it. 

I was personally a tad disappointed that we didn't get to 'see', or experience very much of the Marvel Universe. If I don't normally play in the Marvel milieu, and I get to for a limited run, I want the opportunity to encounter uniquely Marvel things. I wanted to feel why the atmosphere of Marvel is special - why it's not DC, or our homegrown Kapow! game. 

I tried really hard to make that a part of our DC excursion. To facilitate that, I made some tough choices. Not tough for me to make, but choices that I knew might not initially sit well with all the players. For example, I limited which characters they could choose to play, but I didn't do it arbitrarily. Rather, I did it to make the whole thing work. 

Here's what we ended up with...

The Silver/Bronze Age Justice League of America

Characters by Jose Garcia Lopez

Background by Me.

First, I told all the players that the story was set in the DC Universe in the year 1984.

Yep. 1984. The Bronze Age. Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths. 

I opened the game saying:

"The year is 1984. 
Ronald Reagan is the President of the United States.
Footloose and Beverly Hill Cops are raking it in at the Box Office.
Dynasty and Family Ties top the Nielsen Ratings. 
Just like the rest of Earth G+, Bonnie Tylor is Holding Out for a Hero."

That right there is the key to everything. 

Any character created by DC during, or after Crisis on Infinite Earths does not exist in our game. If the character was acquired by DC Comics, and first appears in a DC book during, or after COIE, such as Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and the other Charlton Characters, they too are not available as PCs. 

The 'Satellite Era' Justice League of America, the Teen Titans (Dick Grayson is Robin, not Nightwing), the Doom Patrol (original), the Metal Men, and a number of independent heroes are all cleared for use. 

The group eventually chose a very classic Justice League line up:

The Flash/Barry Allen (played by Keith)
Green Arrow/Oliver Queen (played by Stephen)
Green Lantern/Hal Jordan (played by Tim)
Hawkgirl/Sheira Hall (played by Mark)
Superman/Clark Kent - Kal-El (played by Carl)
Wonder Woman/Princess Diana - Diana Prince (played by Melinda)

A day, or two before the session, I posted the following image, and caption to our Event page...

'Earth Time - August 29th, 1984, 12:00 PM EST - On the outskirts of Space Sector 2813, bordering the edge of 2814, Green Lantern Honor Guard Member, Tomar-Re, detects a disturbance in the Space-Time Continuum.'

The following morning I posted this...

'A series of strange events, some clearly villainous, some merely suspicious, have kept the Justice League of America rather busy over the past 48 hours.

Flash, and Green Arrow - In the wee hours of yesterday morning, Mark Mardon, AKA Weather Wizard, somehow escaped from the Minnesota State Correctional Facility that held him. Several hours later, a sudden, terrible storm blew over Star City just as a plane extraditing Count Werner Vertaygho of Vlatava, AKA Count Vertigo, had taken off. The aircraft, as well as Count Vertigo himself, have disappeared. 

Green Lantern, and Superman - Our heroes have been on the trail of Rudy Jones, AKA The Parasite, for at least twelve hours now. Jones recently escaped from a S.T.A.R. Labs facility attempting to cure his condition. As the heroes neared his last known whereabouts, the Metropolis suburb of Midvale, reports came through that a 'yellow-gold giant with purple clothes' had been sighted in the Delaware Water Gap National Park, about 80 miles Northeast of the city. 

Hawkgirl, and Wonder Woman - Yesterday evening, Helen Alexandros, AKA The Silver Swan, stole an ancient, Greek salpinx from the Midway City Museum (The Midway Museum of Ancient History). She was aided by a mysterious man in a blue cloak. The two individuals vanished right before the eyes of stunned security guards. Early this morning, a man wearing a cloak of the same description was spotted in the Suicide Slum area of Metropolis by Ace O' Clubs owner Bibbo Bibbowski.'

A few hours later, I posted this last, additional entry:

'Update: Additional sightings of the Parasite, Silver Swan, the Blue Cloaked Man, and the mysterious Yellow-Gold Giant have been confirmed by various sources, and complied by J'onn Jonzz, The Martian Manhunter, back on the JLA Satellite. According to his findings, they are all headed for central Metropolis, likely the borough of New Troy.

Weather patterns there have begun to change rapidly, and a particularly intense lightning storm seems to be forming. Very likely, this is a sign that Weather Wizard, and perhaps Count Vertigo, are on their way as well.

Be ready Justice Leaguers!'

The important things to note here are that I tried to make sure I had certain vital (IMO) components established:

• Familiar super villains from the rogues galleries of the chosen PCs.
• A few mystery villains who could not be confirmed to add intrigue.
• Mention of key DC Comics locations related to the PCs.
• Mention of key NPC heroes or supporting cast members. 
• Everything culminating in the most well known location mentioned: Metropolis.

Also, I established that the Martian Manhunter was there to help in an advisory capacity. This enabled me to give exposition, helpful hints, and the like with an in-game voice (J'onn's) instead of a GM/Narrator voice.

Remember this is all before the first session. This is the prologue. It's...OMG...it's...

Pre-Crisis on Earth G+!

More to come...

AD

Barking Alien

Adventure Comics

As I think about today, and how amazing it is that I've been doing what I love [running and playing tabletop RPGs] in one form, or another for 40 years now, I find it curious how much of my current gaming revolves around Superheroes. 

It was Superheroes comic books that got me started in the hobby after all. 

Unlike a lot of people who came to RPGs from other games (particularly war games, and/or miniatures), or a love of fantasy literature, I came to it by way of wanting to create, and participate in stories of a heroic nature. 

The kid who taught me to play on that fateful day in Brooklyn, August 25th, 1977, was a year younger than I was, and learned to play the game from his older brother. He explained it to me by saying, "It's like playing out a comic book. You create a character, go on adventures, defeat villains, and save people."

For this reason as much as any other, I've rarely encountered the 'murderhobo' mentality in earnest. My fellow players, and I as GM, were simply never all that interested in the idea. Once in a blue moon perhaps, as a change of pace, we'd play people just trying to survive and make a name for themselves. Most of the time though, it was about bigger pictures, deep goals, righting wrongs, fighting for a better world, a better tomorrow.

The games that drew my attention, and won my favor were games in which you played heroes, fighting the forces of evil, toppling tyranny, and discovering the wonder of the universe. Games like Star Trek, Star Wars, and of course, various Superhero RPGs. 

These days I don't get to run, or play Star Trek, or Star Wars as much as I'd like (though I do get the chance once in a while. More about that another time). I do get in A LOT of Supers however. 

Why, just next week I will running a DC universe adventure as part of my Google Hangout groups Ultra Mega Summer Super Crossover Event!

I found this in the Dollar Bin of a Comic Book Store on a Parallel Earth.

It's in pretty good condition. What a bargain!

In addition to my ongoing My Hero Academia: American Ultra campaign, I am taking over the reins of our little online group for a few sessions (Muhuwahahahaha!) in order to run something very near, and dear to my heart - a Silver/Bronze Age DC Comics mini-campaign! 

Most of my friends were Marvel fans when we were growing up. For a while, I would've said I was too if asked. DC wasn't as cool as Marvel you see, especially when you're between 8-14 years old, and living in the 1970s and 1980s. 

At the same time, if asked who my favorite superhero was, I would usually say Green Lantern. My favorite team? The Legion of Superheroes, and the Teen Titans. (But, you know, I'm still really a Marvel fan. Shyeah. Right.).

Eventually I grew to be proud of my love of the bigger, bolder, more mythic comic book company, and it's larger than larger-than-life heroes, and villains. Of course, I came to terms with this just as DC's management decided to blow it all up, and start fresh in the landmark Crisis on Infinite Earths maxi-series.

I now yearn for a simpler, yet more epic time. A time of four color heroes, threats to the world, and even the universe, Gold Kryptonite, Super-Pets, and Bat-submarines. I want to visit the Wild West of Jonah Hex, Batlash, and Cinnamon, and the ruined, mutant future of Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth. 

This campaign is therefore a celebration of DC Comics before 1984 - Before waves of anti-matter, and muted, red skies took away the true Earth-2, Earth-3, the original Superboy, and The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. It is the era of The Creeper, Ragman, Supergirl dating Brainiac 5 in the 30th Century, and a host of awesome forgotten villains, and heroes deemed 'not edgy', or 'extreme' enough to survive unmolested into later eras. 

Feh!

The Teen Titans Judas Contract, the Legion of Superheroes' Great Darkness Saga - these stories are worth a thousand times what modern DC is doing. 

Hold on to the Mobius Chair, unfold the Worlogog, and follow us on a journey through the space-time continuum to save an entire reality, or maybe two, in the...

I can't wait!

Stay tuned.

AD
Barking Alien

Almost Heroic

This summer my online gaming group over Google Hangouts decided to do something pretty cool. 

We took a break from out nearly three year long Kapow! campaign, and ran a Marvel/DC/Kapow! crossover event featuring:

Our regular GM Keith running Marvel Heroic, with the players playing Doctor Strange, The Falcon, Human Torch, Speed (of the Young Avengers), Spiderman, and The Vision (played by yours truly). 

Part of the reason for this is that Keith has had several run ins with the Marvel Heroic game, and each time it kind of went South. He very much wanted to like the game, but the mechanics seemed to get in the way of the story instead of enhancing it, and action seemed rather slow for a Superhero RPG.

Well, we gave it the old Empire State University try, and personally I think it wasn't as good as it could have been, and definitely reinforced Keith's complaints about the system. 

The die pool building mechanic takes too long, and the crunch that makes it seem dynamic at first, only ends up confusing those who are unfamiliar with the rules, or who aren't particularly good at organizing such things on the fly. 

Instead of the die representing the cool move you want your character to make, many ended up disassociating the system from their in-game actions, adding dice willy-nilly because, 'You're supposed to add dice right?'

I don't blame the GM, Keith, for any of that. I think he did a fine job and grasped the rules pretty solidly in a short time. Between myself (more familiar with the game) and my friend Carl (universally better at comprehending rule mechanics) we were able to smooth many of the rough edges but not all. The edges were extremely rough and no matter how much you sand, sandpaper can only do so much against quartz crystals.

Personally, I did find there to be another weakness to the Marvel outing but this one is personal, a matter of my own aesthetics and preferences. 

When I am a player or GM in an IP (and I have been the latter MANY times in my 40 years in the hobby) there are certain things I want to experience and 'see'. 

I want to encounter that settings characters, go to its famed locations, and interact with its components. 

For example, I know we've seen Tatooine a hundred times already but if I'm in a year long Star Wars game, at least one session should take me to Tatooine. I want to pilot a starfighter or freighter at least once. I want to blast Stormtroopers. 

Likewise, if you're going to take me on a five session jaunt through the Marvel universe, I want to fight well known villains, go to the Blue Area of the Moon, and/or be tempted to use the Cosmic Cube or The Ultimate Nullifier to defeat the menace threatening our universe.

We didn't quite have that.

We had it somewhat but it didn't feel as epic as I was hoping for. We fought a few cool villains in the first session but then the opponents were mind controlled Young Avengers and other Avengers. OK, sure, cool I guess.

We did find out the villain behind it all was Doctor Doom and Doom is always awesome, but we didn't fight Doom directly. We battled Doombots and a giant Mecha-Doom (which, I have to say, was both very cool and very scary), which was fun, and we got to go to Castle Doom...but I don't feel like we fully experienced it. It was just minions and another generic 'dungeon' room. 

Again, I can't really blame the GM. It is very difficult to convey a sense of awe and wonder over Google Hangouts and the game's rules kept interrupting the richness of the setting. It would have taken a very different approach and a severe trimming of the system to make it flow as I was hoping it would.

The Mecha Doom was awesome though.

MECHA DOOM!

Now I gear up for my part in this insanity, a series of sessions set in the DC Comics universe using Green Ronin's DC Adventures RPG, which utilizes Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Edition.

I've taken a slightly more heavy handed initial approach to the game in order to get the feel right from the very start. More details on it in an upcoming post.

Until then, Make Mine Marvel! But...not necessarily Marvel Heroic.

AD

Barking Alien

PS: I want to thank Keith for doing such an excellent job with the game in spite of all the difficulties with the system, and pacing. I personally find gaming over Google Hangouts (and the internet in general) extremely challenging, and he does it week, after week with enthusiasm, and skill. 

Thank you, Keith!

Hot Fun in the Summertime

For the next few weeks, my weekly Google Hangouts group (which is normally engaged in a Kapow! Superhero RPG campaign going on three years now) will be running...

THE ULTRA, MEGA, SUMMER, SUPER CROSSOVER!

It's a pretty crazy idea, the kind I've been wanting to do for some time now. 

For the first arc, our usual GM, Keith, will be running the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Game, with the players playing established Marvel Universe characters.

When that arc ends, I will be taking the reins, and running a DC Universe story featuring established DC characters, and utilizing the DC Adventures Roleplaying Game (which is powered by, and introduced Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Edition). 

This will be followed by a Kapow! arc in which we pick our favorite Marvel and DC heroes from the two games above, and make them up in that system to face off against the ultimate cross-company crisis! Whatever it may be.

I've got goosebumps! How about you?

Summer Lovin'

We've already begun, having run the first session of our Marvel arc last night. 

The Boys of Summer

While the players aren't all guys, the super-team that assembles in the first session definitely was. It consisted of...

Doctor Strange (Melinda), The Falcon (Mark), The Human Torch (Stephen), Speed (Tim), Spider-man (Carl), and The Vision (me).

Cruel Summer

The story opened with a group of assorted villains meeting up in a dockside warehouse ("As they do", as Melinda noted), where the Kingpin, and Tombstone were preparing to sell a mystic tome to the highest bidder. The potential customers were M.O.D.O.K. of AIM, and Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker, of Hydra!

By the end of the session, our heroes had taken some serious hits, mostly from the marauding missiles of the maliciously mad M.O.D.O.K., and the I (the Vision) from a clever, indirect attack by Baron Strucker. 

However, a good number of players rolled high enough on their defensive reactions to turn the tables on the villains, most notably Doctor Strange, and the Falcon. In the end, the criminals were defeated, though the mystery of the mystic book, and why they wanted it, remains unsolved until next issue...

Summer Breeze

The game went rather smoothly considering only one person besides the GM (me actually) had played Marvel Heroic before. The system worked, and I think the players largely got how the mechanics reflect the story, and vice versa.

It seemed a very straightforward adventure - really just a battle to claim the 'MacGuffin' - but it worked, and it did the job of setting us up for the next session. 

According to Keith, the entirety of this tale will directly relate back to our ongoing Kapow! campaign. Wow. I am curious to see how that plays out.

Alright team, big news coming soon. Until then, be Super to each other!

AD
Barking Alien

Sangatsu Kyōki

This month, you may notice a bit of a Japanese influence here at Barking Alien.

This year is rocketing by, and I am feeling hard pressed to keep pace with it! Yet keep pace I shall, fueled by a sudden influx of creative inspiration brought on by several factors.

First, and foremost, I'm still powerfully into my Pokemon RPG campaign concept. I'll be keeping up with the entries on my idea off, and on throughout the month. I have plans to cover the Pokemon of the Canu Region in more detail, a closer look at the region itself, some ideas for adventures, adversaries, and hopefully much more. 

The goal of my very next post on the subject is to explain how a Pokemon campaign would actually work, focusing on the players' point of view. What do you actually do in a Pokemon game? What can you expect your PC to do, discover, find, and encounter? How do battles work, why do they happen, and how is Character Experience/Experience Points handled.

You can thank Blacksteel for this.

Secondly, I recently had a conversation with members of my online group, who brought up the fact that anyone is welcome to introduce [and if the interest is there], and run virtually any kind of game - at least in the short term. Since we meet weekly on Google Plus, and have been for a good, long while now, it doesn't take much away from our regularly scheduled programming to pop an alternative game into the mix every now, and then.

This lead to discussing games we haven't played in a while, very often, or in the case of some of the participants, and games ever. 

I got on a kick about how much I miss many of the Anime/Manga influenced/inspired games of my youth such as Mekton, and Teenagers from Outer Space. 

I've recently been looking at a lot of current Anime, and Manga, binge-watching some Anime series I've missed, and revisiting some of my notes from previous RPG campaigns inspired by Japanese pop culture classics. 

I can't tell you exactly what all of this means, but I can tell you the wheels are spinning like the back tires on the Mach 5. Is a game of psychically powered teenagers with giant robots in my near future? 

Only time will tell.

AD
Barking Alien 

By the way...'Sangatsu  Kyōki' means 'March Madness'.

Before I go, I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to Theodor S. Giesel, better known to the world at large as Dr. Seuss. Today was his birthday, having been born on March 2nd, in 1904. Giesel passed away in September of 1991.

A prolific writer, artist, and a fascinating figure in both his philosophical, and political standings, Dr. Seuss is an individual whose life is well worth looking into. Beyond the Sneetches, Grinches, and Whos, Giesel was a man passionate about a number of things, and much of that passion made it's way into his work in one form, or another.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss - The Cat in The Hat, and all of that!

Lights Over A Bowl of Dust

Wednesday evening I covered for our regular Kapow! GM Keith, who runs an excellent Superhero RPG campaign over Google Hangouts. Actually, he's been doing it a good two and change years now.

Periodically I run something with the same group, usually when Keith is unavailable for some reason as was the case this time. This past week and next he is moving and so I stepped in with a planned two-parter.

Originally I had intended on running my Ghost Story RPG, 'Unfinished Business', but I decided to wait. A suggestion on a setting time and place by one of the players (Thank You Carl!) gave me a moment of Gaming Epiphany and I switched gears to another long time game idea I've always wanted to try.

Instead of a Ghost Story, I went with a UFO/Mystery/Period Piece set in the mid-1930s. The game had odd though overall effective pacing (I'll elaborate in an upcoming post) and generally went over very well. I am really happy with how it turned out.

Here's a session recap...

Act I

Oklahoma. The Dust Bowl. September 1936.

Years of drought, and dust storms have turned the great plains of America's heartland into a desert. Salt of the Earth farmers do the best they can to survive. Many abandon the state, and head west to California. President Roosevelt works to address the hardships of the struggling homesteaders as his New Deal plans seek to pull the United States out of the economic difficulties of the Great Depression.

On a lonely stretch of Route 66 between Oklahoma City, and Tulsa, Mr. and Mrs. Hildy and Archibald Dunkirk stop to fix a flat tire. Hailing from swank society Chicago, the married Reporter and Photojournalist duo have been covering the dust storms and the effect they've had on the fine people of the state of Oklahoma. Unfortunately, one such storm, a real doozy of a humdinger, is right on their heels.

Enter Deputy Sheriff Milton Stokes, out on the road looking for travelers stranded by the rough conditions. Getting reports of high winds, brush fires, and peculiar lights in the sky, Stokes comes upon the couple and tries to lend a hand.

Meanwhile, blues guitarist 'Albuquerque One-String' Simon comes upon the group. Taking the bus when he can afford a ticket, hitchhiking when he can't, he sees the people and cars ahead and tries to make a break for them before the devil of dust storm catches up to him (and them as well). He wants their aid and shelter in one of their vehicles, but he also wants to warn them just the same. Momma Simon taught her son right.

Simon is facing the storm and sees it a'coming clear as day, even though it is nearly dusk and the muted hues of land and sky make it all bleed together on the horizon.

Deputy Stokes and the Dunkirks realize trouble is truly brewing when the wind picks up out of nowhere, roaring to life, and drowning out all other sounds. Stokes runs to his car to report back on his location and that he's trying to aid some folks, but after a few moments he loses the conversation to static. The sky grows darker and the headlights of his car flicker. The Dunkirks' own car radio gets louder, then inaudible, then back to normal in a blink. At normal decibels it is completely drowned out in the din of the wind.

Albuquerque is getting close, so he shouts as loud as he can, but they just can't hear him. He waves his arms frantically and Hildy sees him in her car's rear view mirror. Taking off her reporter's hat, she dons a scarf, or kerchief, and long gloves, then rushes out to help the poor fellow. Archie sees her and knows he must go to his wife's aid (or he'll simply never hear the end of it)! Stokes focuses on finishing fixing the tire. When he's done he runs over to see the rest of them have formed a Human chain, attempting to pull Simon towards the police car.

Just then, a low flying plane, like a crop duster, sails just over Stokes' head. He can see some sort of light coming from underneath it. He can not hear it at all. Even with the rolling thunder of the wind, the plane seems quieter than a church mouse.

Stokes grabs the bumper of his car with one hand and Archie Dunkirk's arm with the other. Archie grabs Hildy. Hildy grabs Simon. Simon holds on to his guitar for dear, dear life! The Storm Arrives! Everyone is pelted in the back (Simon in the face) with sand, grit, dust, and debris. As the mysterious aircraft flies overhead, Stokes catches sight of another object some fifty feet up in the rapidly darkening evening. It looks like a ball of orange fire...

The storm is caught by a terrible cross wind and what seemed like it couldn't get worse, does. A wide tornado of gravel, dust, and dry grass forms around the group. For a brief moment - the blink of an eye - the beat of a heart - the group seems buffeted by wind, but relatively safe in the eye of the whirlwind.

Just as suddenly as it formed, the massive dust devil POPS! A thunderously loud explosion overhead breaks up the dust storm, slamming all the people on site to the ground, flat on their backs, with such force that they are all knocked unconscious...

End of Act I

Our players and characters are...

Hildegard 'Hildy' Dunkirk, Mrs. - Reporter, The Chicago Eagle - Chicago, IL (played by Melinda S.)

A spunky, good girl with a heart of gold and a bank account to match, Hildy Dunkirik has the epitome of both a 'high society debutante' and a spirited, big city reporter. 

'Roughing it' in the rural wastelands of depression era Oklahoma, she nonetheless strives to tell the honest, Human side of the the Dust Bowl's situation. 

Archibald 'Archie' Dunkirk, Mr. - Photographer/Photojournalist, The Chicago Eagle - Chicago, IL (played by Stephen H.)

Likewise born with a silver spoon in his mouth (but one not as shiny as Hildy's), Archie Dunkirk has been given the opportunity to pursue his interest in photography. With a brave demeanor and a talented eye, Archie has managed to become well known and respected back in Chicago for his gripping photos that powerfully depict the plight of the common folk.

Archie is bit of a klutz with any machinery or equipment other than his trusty camera and photography gear. Nobody's perfect.

Simon 'Albuquerque One-String' Simon - Blues/Jazz Musician - Albuquerque, NM (played by Carl E.)

Born and raised in Albuquerque, NM, Simon Simon (Momma was a good woman but none too creative) grew up poor and largely uneducated. A self-taught guitarist with a second hand guitar, One-String Simon made money doing odd jobs and playing in dive cafes and on the street. 

One day, Albuquerque received a letter from a famous musician in St. Louis asking him to join his band for a spell with the possibility of hiring Simon full time. The musician had heard Albuquerque play while passing through One-String's home town. The fellow was the leader of a blues band of some notoriety and Albuquerque knew this was the opportunity of a life time. 

Packing up all he had (which was basically his hat, his guitar, and his one good suit), Simon alternated between bus, train, and hitchhiking to get where he needed to go.

Milton Stokes - Deputy Sheriff - Oklahoma City, OK (played by Mark O.)

An Oklahoma native and life long resident, Milton Stokes is an honest man doing an honest job for honest folks. He can't stomach it when folks in need go without. That's why he does what he does I reckon.

Stokes native status means he knows the people around these parts like he knows his own shadow. He's on a first name basis with all the bus drivers, the milkmen, the mailmen, the farmers, and the old lady who runs the motor lodge up around Sand Creek way. 

When strange things start happening around the area, rest assured Deputy Stokes is on the case.

***

A storm, dead car batteries, a midnight rescue by a bus driver and his charges, an out of the way motor lodge, strange radio signals, and a series of lights in the sky later, and this eclectic group of strangers seem to have uncovered a mystery that grows stranger and stranger as the night wears on. The Dust Bowl is empty of water, but it might very possibly be full of...something out of this world.

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Barking Alien