EPISODE #4 (THE EVIL EYE)

[MadStepDad]

This is a recap of a LIVE PbP game going on over at the WHAT WOULD U DO CREW clubhouse. I post this here for the benefit of those who may be unaware of these events as they unfold.

http://madstepdad.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=weed

BACKGROUND

At the conclusion of EPISODE #1 - KNIGHT of the MENTALLY DEAD, my gaming group fractured due to time and schedule restraints. However we all vowed to continue the saga using a series of individual and solo adventures. One of the multiple threads planted at the conclusion of EPISODE #1 (which wrapped up in Los Angeles circa 1993), was the formation of a new TRIBE of HYKSOSA chapter in New Orleans. The player of JOHNNY ACID - the wandering Half-Vistani MC - took the bait and relocated Down South.

There, he settled in with guide (and Shadow World mentor) ALEXUS DARKAGNON who introduced him to the rest of the party...

BROTHER MICHAEL O'TOOLE (played by NATE of the FRATERNITY) - Four years of novitiate and trial (plus a year-long stint studying abroad in Rome) helped MICHAEL O'TOOLE become a lay brother of the Dominicans. A couple more years of study and he will be ready to take holy orders and become a priest. He's living in New Orleans and waiting for instructions; he knows he's a man with a mission, even if the mission hasn't yet fully been revealed.

JASON "TRUTH" GLENN (played by BBQDaddy) - From Minnesota, he is on a job for a club owner to find some punk that took off with some drugs and headed to New Orleans to set himself up. TRUTH's job is to recover what was taken and make an example of the guy. Only problem is, he doesn't know if he is ready to go that far. The quest for truth starts here...

TENROU LEE (played by WWuDCrewer LOCDOUT, currently in Arizona) - The Broken City is his home. Brockton Mass. He's a friend of Alexus' - they go back a bit. He's been living in New York for the past few years though. He's trying to return his temple to it's former glory."

[MadStepDad]

The goal of the module - as set forth by their guide ALEXUS DARKANGNON - is the discovery of the "Millenium Martyr" - aka THE DUKKAR. His arrival has been heralded through history as the coming of an American Anti-Christ. I set the PCs up with a bevy of starting points, all of which are included in the module (in some fashion). Examples include:

* The rise of the “Dukkar” has been watched for ages by a tribe of gypsies known as the “ZAROVAN”. If anybody would know about the Dukkar and the rise of the MILLENIUM MARTYR it’s these guys. Unfortunately, they are deeply hidden behind a veil of secrecy that is almost impossible to breach. The only clue that ALEXUS DARKANGNON and the TRIBE of HYKSOSA can gather comes from a small tribe of Kamii gypsies in town for the Festival. It’s been said that senior members of the Kamii tribe have been in recent correspondence with the Zarovans while in New Orleans.

* Competing factions in New Orleans are aware of the MILLENIUM MARTYR (aka “Dukkar”) coming, and vie to control its burgeoning power. Word on the streets says an operative known only as “BIG BOY” is making its presence felt in “the maze” sections of the 3rd ward. Crew leader goes only by the name “SCAR” and if you find him he could be an invaluable source of information (or a deadly foe).

* Hip Hop music and culture grew in New Orleans throughout the 1980’s. The first rap record released by a New Orleans-based group was “We Destroy” by the NINJA CREW in 1986 – tellingly, it came out on a Miami-based record label. The New Orleans rap infrastructure is largely nonexistent, as most local acts find distribution in Miami or Texas. But recently, more and more local acts are coming to prominence under the banner of a new sub-genre called “bounce” music. Many of these acts have influenced the subtle mechanizations of the RED DEATH, and helped to grow its influence in New Orleans. The #1 recording studio in New Orleans is known as “The Goldfinger” and it’s said that the Engineer there “knows everything”…

* The MOMUS KREWE was chartered in 1872 and is one of the oldest Krewes in Mardi Gras history. The Krewe of MOMUS was named for the God of Mockery, and first participated in the Carnival in 1877. Members came from the ranks of the all-white Louisiana Club and their motto was “dum vivimus, vivamus” (“while we live, let us live”). In keeping with the early Masonic traditions of secrecy, the members of MOMUS never revealed the name of their king. Last year however (in 1992), when New Orleans councilwoman DOROTHY MAE TAYLOR drafted an anti-discrimination ordinance that prohibited racial discrimination among the Krewes, MOMUS refused to sign the ordinance and withdrew from the Parade schedule. It has been said MOMUS members have the inside track on the rise of the MILLENIUM MARTYR, and now one of their secret members has come to the attention of ALEXUS and the TRIBE of HYKSOSA with his flashy, arrogant behavior. His name – MATTON BLANCHARD.

* Recently a new well has sprung in the New Orleans heroin racket. Word is the generous new benefactor got his product way up North, and then bounced to the South before reconciling his debt. He goes by the name SLIM and has heavy ties to the notorious Magnolia Housing Projects in the 12th ward. It’s said his half-Vistani girlfriend GABBY is the one who put him up on his Northern connect and then urged his betrayal. What’s most disturbing about SLIM is his nefarious new connection with an infamous smuggler named NATHAN TIMOTHY – a man known to control the Mississippi channels with his boat the “Virago”. Sources indicate this dark union has been organized by the same forces overseeing the rise of the DUKKAR…

[MadStepDad]

The PCs went with the Goldfinger option first and while JOHNNY ACID cut a quick demo in the studio (effectively putting New Orleans on alert with their arrival), the PCs gained some deep musical and electronic history from the elderly Engineer, but little they could go on in regards to finding the DUKKAR. At first they started out loosely investigating the heroin connect TRUTH was chasing from Minnesota, which lead the Engineer to refer the PCs to another recording studio across town (home to an act they think may have ties to the heroin smuggling ring).

They went across town to the "Falkovnian Quarter" where the studio was. I used this opportunity to dust off a few vague MIDNIGHT SLASHER references and to relate the "ruined wedding of Gustav and family" story from the module in relation to a gang of thieves and murderers called the CUT THROAT COMMITTY (home to an infamous vixen called "Gabby").

During this time, LOCDOUT (player of TENROU LEE) lost his privilages and disappeared into the oblivion, relegating TENROU LEE to NPC status temporarily. So I decided to add on the Q-MONSTAH - who plays in our tabletop game as LENIENCE ELDERWOOD - and who has been following the EVIL EYE online game since it began.

He is playing the role of Olyesso Az Nahmanides, a strange Persian-born fortune teller/con man who meets the PCs during the first night of the Festival. Things are about to start picking up real soon and I encourage all of you to check out the posts as they unfold...

http://madstepdad.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=weed

And feel free to offer some thoughts, comments, criticisms, concerns over on the Spectator Thread so graciously started by our main man Gonzoron of the Fraternity...

http://madstepdad.proboards.com/index.c ... thread=472

Thanks for reading!!!

[MadStepDad]

"EVENT #1 - THE BOY IN BLACK" has just transpired. After a chaotic scene involving two tethered horses, a wagon full of classic ale kegs and crowded New Orleans streets during the first night of Mardi Gras, the PCs were fortunate to escape the madness with nary an injury.

But a few of them spotted the mysterious boy in the crowd watching them intently. Seconds later, he was gone. Now - paranoia swirling in his head - JOHNNY ACID questions the integrity (and the abrupt, unexpected arrival) of new PC OLYESSO. The truth (or urban legend?) of OLYESSO and his involvement in the hunt for the Dukkar may be revealed shortly. The players are also investigating the Kanii gypsy lead they were given, that may help guide them to the elusive ZAROVAN gypsies. The Kanii they speak of is a gypsy loner on the fringes of town named RAOUL...

To be continued!

[MadStepDad]

The players found RAOUL and were spotted by SCAR. They broke camp with RAOUL at some trailer park off the beaten path and discovered the dire condition of his son NIKKO.

But is it really the result of a haunt? Or is RAOUL's mind playing tricks on him from the psychodelic drugs he just "happens" to dabble in? Will the PCs ride out the rainy night with Linus in the pumpkin patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin to show? Or will level heads prevail with a retreat back to dry ground?

Find out in the latest installment of the EVIL EYE!

http://madstepdad.proboards.com/index.c ... 541&page=1

[MadStepDad]

I'm learning PbP's take a MINUTE to run, and this one is no exception. The ghost of LEYLA has arisen, and for the entire groups reaction please visit us in the WHAT WOULD U DO CREW clubhouse, where the specter of the Dukkar still looms large.

http://madstepdad.proboards.com/index.c ... 541&page=6
The latest installment leaves us wondering whether our young, intrepid heroes have another mustard to capsize this vapor, and relish their victory. As the the 1 year anniversary of our little online game recently passes, the wheels continue to churn in old New Orleans! Holla at your boys!!!

(This is the offical "Holla at your boys!!!" thread, shouts to GRon)
http://madstepdad.proboards.com/index.c ... thread=472