GM: Sean Nittner
Players: Chris Vincenti, Steven Dunn, and Joe Harney
System: Dresden Files
This adventure was meant to do a couple things.
- Follow up on the exploits of the heroes with the Jade Court from the first adventure. They had given Jade and opening and now the court was taking it.
- Shine the spotlight on Rose, her father and the organization they worked for, the Asian Pacific Economic Conference (APEC).
- Create ties between Remington’s prior promise (to rescue the human offerings intended for Mab) and Rose’s duty to her father (becoming chief of security at APEC).
In retrospect, it did all of them in varying degrees, though not as succinctly as I’d like it to have. For instance, we did learn about APEC and the Jade Court involvement, but besides a hag who took the form of the of the human offerings, we really didn’t learn anything about where that offering was.
This was complicated somewhat by the absence of Rose and VC. Especially Rose, who I intended to have calling the shots.
All of the characters were sent, specifically through unofficial channels to attend a gala to celebrate Japanese figure skaters Mao Asada and Akira Sasaki making it into the winter Olympics.
Major events at the gala
A fake kidnapping of Mao Asada turned into a real kidnapping (of sorts) when Raoul put in her in a cab and sent her off to his agent to keep her “safe”.
Meanwhile Caine and Remington saw through the smoke and mirrors and realized the real heist going on was the pickup of a package. Specifically a package containing a trapped (circle of power style trapped) Hag named Catarina.
Naturally Raoul being Raoul, she was freed and let out into the night, notably having pledges not to harm Raoul or his kin, which giving that he is an emissary of power…
Some fun times included…
A shootout between Caine and some APEC security, which worked very well because neither side had the goal of killing the other side.
Raoul insulting one of the skaters (Akira Sasaki) and being put in a brutally painful wrist lock for his efforts.
Caine getting a lot of crap from the wizard Helios and being offered sponsorship in the affairs of the White Council from the wizards and treasure hunter Johanna Duska.
Monroe cheating his way out of the hot seat again by telling the cops that the Raphael in the MOMA was a fake.
Thoughts about this game.
Missing Fattig/Rose really threw me for a loop. What I get for creating a centerpiece character.
Johanna’s social conflict with Caine felt like it lacked some teeth. I’m not sure that she really had something he needed and therefor I don’t think she had leverage. If there is no leverage, there is no conflict, something for me to remember.
When Remington was slipping past APEC security, I handed each individual move as a contested roll, when I should have really called it one conflict. APEC wins he is caught, Monroe wins, he finds out what they are smuggling. Playing it out as separate contests worked out okay, but I would have been much happier to hit him with mental stress by having guards hear a noise and come after him, put maneuvers on the scene like “on alert”, etc.
