GM: Rae Nedjadi
Players: Josh Hittie, Sherri Stewart, Sean Nittner
System: Tomb Raider
Recap of last session
Sent by our totally not-sketchy patron.
Rocks fell. Poor truck. Did not make it.
Friend shaped mysterious white eel in the water.
Dash helped us wake our wait through forgotten paths in the mountain to make it to the village of Materua.
Very few people in Materua, but we did meet John Hobson (who does not like Dash), Tom De Wit and Aroha. Tense stand off until Jason leveraged his legacy to get Tom to see him as a friend. Someone who can be nominally trusted.
We retired to the Hobson family to meet Demon 1 and Demon 2 (their twin children). Jason’s need to give encouragement to children is very strong.
Campfire Phase
Setup for camp. Fen setup the cameras to capture the constellations.
Creator Core Move: Fen begins repacking the gear that was all tumbled about in the crash. Jason is playing with the kids but Dash is brooding so Fen drags him into it.
- Are you addressing someone else’s needs or concerns? – Doing this for Dash…at least that what Fen thinks he needs.
- Are you inspired by a PC or ally? – Yeah, watching how John has his things packed for traveling. His gear is well packed but it’s rarely used. It was an anniversary gift from Jaquie! John is uncomfortable about all of this, especially when Fen mentions it would be good for holding sniper rifles.
- Are you being smart about this? Yes, she’s building on the work she’s see before.
Quick release storage devices. Embodies Fen’s feelings for Dash because she can’t ever predict what he’s going to do, which makes her nervous. But whenever he acts is so definitive that he needs to have things right at hand so he can do it immediately. Subconsciously it’s to give him options that aren’t his artifact. Also Fen feels like she’s on the outside of Jason and Dash and hopes this will bring them together.
Dash: False Bravado
The story starts with the wild and crazy thing we did right before we got sucked into the society.
Deep water reef under the Amazon. Very hard to get to because it’s very silty and very deep and the water runs really fast.
- Dash was the first one to dive in! Leading the charge.
- Fen hand to wrangle bringing the lighting and equipment down. And the giant Arapaima that dragged them away but they found a great place on the reef. Another friend shaped underwater creature Fen instantly fell in love with.
- Jason anchored the group with underwater pitons and kept Fen from being dragged away.
Is at least one of us hiding a vulnerability or fear? Yes. Dash is trying to hide his fear diving in
Is at least one of us hoping someone will see through the facade? Yes. Jason is hoping at least one of us will recognize the support staff that made it all possible.
Are you trying to change the nature of the soul artifact? Yes, the soul artifact is jealous of Jason and Fen, but Dash wants to convince it that he was only able to do these amazing things because of their support.
Dash, draws someone ire and forms playful rivalry with John Hobson, listening in from the other room and doubting the fish was really that big. Gains a bond with John.
Jason draws someone ire and forms playful rivalry with Fen, saying she didn’t need to be saved.
Fen draws someone ire and forms playful rivalry with Jason. She gets the attention of the kids and gets them to believe her big fish stories. “It didn’t blink at you Fen, these things haven’t seen daylight in 3 million years, they don’t have eyelids!”
Jason: Reveal a Secret
Jason wants to set the records straight with Aroha about Tom. He’s not my friend. He might think he is, but I’m not his friend. He’s my problem to deal with, my trash to take out.
Reveals that he was also saved by John De Wit. He was in the room and he has a Congenital heart defects. Small hole in my heart. So he was in the most danger. I was unconscious but woke when the first gunshot happened. But I was frozen and didn’t do anything.
- Reveal a flaw you can’t hope to overcome. Ask them: Can you help me?
Aroha is a woman, but she’s also the mountain in a way I can’t really understand. She puts her hand on my shoulder and tells me “you don’t have to do this alone. We’ll face Tom De Wit and The Pledge together.” First time I knew the pledge was involved.
- How did the pledge help us gain the heart chakra talisman?
Bombing in India that destroyed a temple and the British East India Company took artifacts from the bombing to “preserve” them. The pledge orchestrated for the Anahata Talisman to make it into Jason Price II’s hands for his wife. Who also has the same condition.
Action Phase
Kids keep trying to keep us reading one more story, doing one more bed time activity. bouncing back and forth. In the morning Jaquie makes breakfast, kids get ready for school. So many bird sounds.
Fan sees a strange silent lightning surrounding the mountain. She takes video and show it to Jaquie to confirm if it’s something strange. As we keep moving back and forth. There’s a moment when the flash is so close to the lens that it looks like there is a face looking at the lens (though it’s very abstract). At that time there is a knock on the door and a man stands in the doorway…startling them both.
The see an old Māori man who comes in and seems like he’s not quite here. He’s talking but it’s unclear who he’s talking to (the birds?). Jacquie seems uncomfortable with him there, but he’s clearly someone important.
Fen greets him and asks if he’d like to see the footage they captured. He has a large Pounamu pendant around his neck. It looks large and heavy but he’s used to wearing it. He comes over and looks at the camera, that he know how to use (he’s listening to someone nobody else can hear where they appear to be giving him directions). Jacquie says this is Koro Tuku, our Tohunga.
Fen says “oh, we waved at you last night, but you were napping”
He replies “oh, a nap is a good idea” an then he climbs into Dash’s bed, leaving Dash bemused.
Jaquie wants to call Aroha but her cell service won’t work inside. She goes outside to get a better signal.
And then we hear a noise outside “Hello”. There’s the aunty who everyone defers to Diane “Aunty” Tohu. Jason is ready to greet her with coffee, which she accepts but throws Jason’s out (which had 18 supplements in it and a full day’s worth of nutrients). Jason sighs. She pokes at him and looks for the soft bits.
She goes to make tea, pulls out biscuits that John didn’t even know they had. She’s very friendly but also watching out for everyone, especially Koro. Dash notices that Koro is very close to the end of his life.
Jason asks if Koro is sick? She answers indirectly. A fantail that Koro was talking to earlier flies in. Aunty sighs “This is a bad sign, eh?” The way the fantails have groups around and followed Koro is a sign that death is near. He isn’t sick, he’s just very old. He’s the oldest person in the village. “Strange though. I haven’t seen him leave his house in a few months. He must have an interest in you bub.”
“You’re fortunate to have him in your community and it’s good that you take care of him. If the people here who set up the research station are causing you problems… it’s our obligation”
“You can help Koro tell the thing Aroha doesn’t want to hear.”
“I get the feeling that Aroha sees and hears a lot. I’m not sure how to help.”
“Oh good” (ignoring Jason’s doubts). “Take these biscuits in, the chocolate ones I borrowed from my niece”.
Jason sits down next to Dash, very close (he’s comfortable being close to Dash) and tells him “Old people always love you. You should go ask Koro what he has to say. Aunty says he has something he needs to share.”
Dash is dubious but will give it a shot. He asks “What vestiges of power does the soul artifact sense here?” He can sense Kora’s breath, the same as the mountain, is the only thing keeping him alive.
Fen hears a helicopter out front. It lands and six para-miliary jump out and tell John Hobson he’s under arrest. Fen protests that he has rights but they start dragging him to the helicopter. Fen goes to take a picture and one of them shoots out the lens of the camera, not caring how close to her face he’s shooting.
Call in “Requesting permission to sterilize”. One of the twins runs out “Dad. What’s going on?”
Fen wants to create a distraction so she swings the camera at the guy who shot at her. [Take Control. Result 6.]
- When she hits him with the camera, his headgear comes off and everyone pauses for a moment. We were an unknown complication. The pause with guns on us.
[Golden opportunity for an ally] John grabs his kid, and the other one as he makes it into the house. Aunty is trying to get Koro to leave but he won’t leave. He runs with his kids out the back to the town center. - [Hit them when it hurts and inflict a condition] The camera bounces off the guy and hits their communications array.
Jason remembers that Tom De Wit likes to use the term “sterilize”. Jason comes out and tells everyone to calm the hell down. “You’re not the law. You’re a paramilitary group working for Tom De Wit and the Pledge.” Shows all his documentation (a briefcase full of money). [Take Control. Get’s a 6.]
- Golden Opportunity. Even the pilot comes out so dash can steal the helicopter.
- Reveal a valuable secret but gain a truth. When he sees the amulet. “We’re so sorry sir, we didn’t realize you were one of us.” Didn’t think I was part of the pledge because I’m not white.
“Just to get you up to speed sir” Hands an envelope to Jason. It’s a old photograph of tattooed mummified heads placed on the shelves of a collection “biological artifacts, collection 4”. They are all Maori. Each tattoo is unique, but one looks just like Koro. Old photo but undeniably Koro.
Dash jumps in the helicopter. His goal: get these people away from this helicopters. That’s where Dash realized Koro is next to him and ready to fly. “Alright, let’s go old man!”
End of Session
- Self Discovery and Team Advancement
- Racing Heart advances.
Emily Lo-Atkins standing in a stark white room (the walls, the floor, the furniture). She says “I don’t trust De Wit to handle things on his own. It’s time to show the Pledge how useful we can be. Don’t you think?” We pan away and see the back of a mummified head she was talking to.
Thoughts on the game
Oh no, we forgot about Janine. She slept through it all with her noise cancelling headphones and eye mask.
Add a side note for vehicles to explain how they get there. Waiting for you when you arrive? Drop shipped after you get there? Something you purchase from the locals? Possibly to differentiate these from Reckoners, they are Repurposed and retrofitted?
False Bravado, questions expanded so anyone in the team can say yes:
- Is at least one of us hiding a vulnerability or fear?
- Is at least one of us hoping someone will see through the facade?
