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.
AD
Barking Alien
