Actual Play – Of Course it’s Your Last Job Saul (6/11/2010)

GM: Shaun Hayworth
Players: Travis, Sean, Fattig and Kristin
System: Dresden Files

I’m not sure if I can capture of the cool of this game, but I’ll try. I spent a car ride down to San Jose (about an hour and a half) talking about it with Steve and I thought that would get my mind ready to write the AP, but it seems that the frantic energy I had about the game has faded just leaving a nostalgic afterglow. The game rocked.

Fattig ran a little late for the game but that turns out to be cool. Kristin jumped in and took one of our “Face” NPCs and made it into her character. Anders, the White Court Pit Boss made flesh. Travis and I had her star in our books, forge a few connections and voom… we were ready to play.

As we were doing this Shaun casually turns to the group and says “I need a magoffin”. I wasn’t sure what it was for so I just spouted out “A Hollow earth threatening to collapse in on itself.” He looked at me a little strange and then I offered one less epic “An idol of power, taken from the vampires”. He nodded and went back to some notes while we continued integrating Anders with our charactes.

Fattig shows up and we got the party started.

I told Shaun I wanted Saul to be trying out for an Atlantic City production of Dracula. You know, full of light shows, musical numbers, and barely clothed women. It would be a real classy show, I’m sure. Saul’s a decent performer (picked it up from his family) and he thought it would impress his mother. So, the session starts off with Saul and Donnie in some dive of a casino while the casting director is taking auditions. Saul, anxiously recites his lines under his breath while Donnie insults everything about this place. I won’t go into the specifics for fear of insulting my audience or painting Fatting into being some kind of epithet spewing monster, but it’s safe to say our particularly crass audience (myself included) found his insults to Saul and the whole show hilarious.

What’s behind compel number 1?

Just as Saul’s name was about to be called one of the heavies came over and told Saul he has a phone call on the casino line… one he had to take. He begged Donnie to keep his place in line and reluctantly took the call. It was Polly Cupola, Old Man Cupola’s (aka the mob boss) daughter, asking for just a little favor from Saul. Here comes my compel: Mix up with the mob. She just needed me to pick up a package for her at the airport. Easy money right?

So much for Dracula

When Saul got back to the auditions not only had his name been skipped but Donnie was unashamedly hitting on some Jersey Shore trash “So… hows you doin?” This however, was a great hook for Saul. “Donnie, you made me lose my part, you’ve got to come help me to make up for it.” And like the good player he is, Fattig figured a good way to make sure Donnie was interested which was as simple as “eh.. yer not really my type” to the girl with the orange skin.

Off to see the Wizard…

Wait… I’m the Wizard. We were off to see Polly. One the way though, Saul called in a favor with Anders, who had promised to help get him out of the mob’s clutches. Anders came along to help, but his family had other ideas. As soon as Saul and Donnie were dropped off at Dukes, which Anders wasn’t going to go lets he start a fight and blow the whole job, his sister showed up and have the White Court side of the story. Saul was about to pick up an idol… and the White Court wanted it. So use the mortal to get the idol and then take it from him. Simple enough except Anders didn’t want to play game with big sister. He demanded White Court protection for Saul, but was rejected outright. “If you want to keep your plaything safe, little brother, that’s your problem. The family wants that idol, and you’re going to bring it to us.” Big sister left and (reluctantly I believe) Anders settled in with the thought that he was going to have to get the idol from Saul one way or another.

Inside Dukes

Sven was standing amongst made men, all decked out in gold and rings, in his off-camo fatigues and boots, when Donnie and Saul showed up. There was some mis-matched name calling. Donnie, unable to pronounce the “Sv” sound just called him “Seven” and Sven for kicks calling Donnie Peter. Having just read Changes I am reminded of how often Harry calls people by some random (and often insulting name) he’s made up for them. This seemed very fitting.

Saul’s Last Job, yeah right.

Polly gave Saul and friends a job. Take this bag. Go to the airport. Meet Mr. Hernandez. Trade the bag for a box. Come home and don’t tell Papa Cupola. Simple and easy? Sure. Oh well, she promised it would be his last job. She also though bringing a couple friends wouldn’t be a bad idea. And daddy, absolutely, could not know about this.

A Conflict of interest

Anders and Saul have a not pleasant conversation about where the idol should end up. Anders posits that this is Saul’s way out of the mob. Saul agrees. It’s his way out of the mob and into a pair of concrete shoes! This issue is left unresolved.

Enter the Crazy 8s

In smaller snippets.

  1. Hernandez in Red Court, so is his lady.
  2. Donnie (ex red-court flunkie) freaks out and starts shooting
  3. Chaos ends (or climaxes I should say) with a G5 exploding on the tarmac. Thanks Sven.
  4. Terrorist attack!!!
  5. Donnie, Sven and Anders sneak away from the fight with the money.
  6. Saul bugged out before planes turned into weapons and got the idol from Hernandez (a with the help of a extra powerful hex).
  7. Saul picks up a statue of liberty at the airport and spends the taxi ride back to Dukes (where he knows Anders will be to take the idol from him) putting a veil on the statue to look like the idol.
  8. He arrives, tells the cabbie to keep it running and leaves the idol stuffed under the passenger seat.

Then things get crazy

  1. Anders is there. With the money. A white court vampire who feeds on (and induces) greed offers you $350,000. You take it! (mechanically this was inspire greediness and a compel)
  2. Then Sven adds his two bits and makes Saul extra brave (again, an inspire emotion plus compel)
  3. What does the now greedy and brave Saul do? Tell everyone to go to hell. He’s gonna go into Dukes and tell them he’s keeping the Money AND the Idol… only there’s a hitch.
  4. Shaun compelled my greedy again to forget about the cabbie and wave him off.
  5. Now Anders is chasing a cab and Saul’s got nothing but a replica and ten pound testicles. Time for the magic eight ball (an enchanted item) and another illusion.
  6. Saul walks in with the statue in one hand the money in another an calls out in his best Italian mobster voice. “Poooooooly!”
  7. This made easier by the fact that he looks like exactly like Old Man Cupola.
  8. Donnie and Sven play up the part of browbeaten cronies making Saul’s delivery that much more believable. Saul, ala Cupola chastise Polly for going behind his back, shatters the “idol” on the ground in anger and stops off with the bag, telling Polly never to behind his back again… and to make sure she gives Saul a big kiss. He’s a real mench!

The scene ends as Saul exists. He no longer looks like Cupola.

He is no longer brave or greed. He drops the three hundred grand at the door and bolts. TERRIFIED!

Ander closes the session out turning the idol (which he got from the cabbie) into the family.

Everyone’s happy. Sort of.

What rocked

Did you read my AP? The freaking game rocked!

What could have improved

We’re still learning the rules and got a little bogged down at times.

Also, my geomancy turned out to be a lot more like ectomancy (using my ancestors for help). I thought about this and really want to get Saul back to using earth magic. I’m going to write his spirit heavy magic that game off as a fluke…. Or possibly fodder for a future plot hook.

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