#GURPS: William Edward @Daisuke *** #gurps :End of /NAMES list. *** Mode is +tnrc *** Channel created at Thursday, October 4, 2001 1:15:19 PM *** katster (katster@stk-ca-eli-1-45.internetuser.net) has joined channel #gurps *** Mode change "+o katster" on #GURPS by ChanServ katster: BOOYA. William: Mooya kats. *** Mode change "+o William" on #GURPS by katster katster: Will...you want players opped or deopped? William: Doesn't matter to me unless somebody gets unruly with it. Ops for players, spectators stay deopped. *** Mode change "+o Edward" on #GURPS by katster katster goes back to work on homework, I'll have to afk a bit to get dinner...lemme go warn the folks it's game night. *** Ellis (aris@A010-0697.SNFC.splitrock.net) has joined channel #gurps Ellis: Hewwo, everyone William: Moo Gregory. Ellis snaps Will a salute with his foil Ellis snickers, realizes the music playing is quasi-IC. ;) William: Mm? Ellis: o/~ And God said / "Let there be...." / Light! o/~ William: Gosh, yes. :^) Ellis: It's the first couple books of Genesis done as a musical. ;) William: Interesting. Ellis: Have I plugged Children of Eden at you? Ellis: It's a fun musical. William: Not that I can recall. Ellis: There are some truly amazing pieces in it, and some really cheezy stuff for the kids. ;) Ellis: o/~ Let there be, let there be... morning / Let there be evening, day / Let there be... o/~ William: I had the idea, many years ago, to make a poster: a pretty, cursive "In the Beginning..." and then a whole rest. ;^) *** Mode change "+o Ellis" on #GURPS by katster *** E[C] (Empress@200.50.72.154) has joined channel #gurps William: Hi Emp. Ellis: I'll bet you have one of those "And God said... [series of integral calculations] ... and there was light." shirts. ;) E[C] spectatifies katster: Will: I think I figured out why the Grigori intrigue me. William: Nah, that's hardcore physics. *** UpLink (pirch@dyn130.nas8.vegas.viawest.net) has joined channel #gurps William: Moo UL. UpLink: Baa William: Wow, attendance! *** UpLink is now known as BA *** Mode change "+o BA" on #GURPS by katster Ellis: Hey, it's Vand^H^H^H^HBA! William: I mean, I suppose I could qualify, since I have a B.S., but... enh. I have way too many T-shirts as it is. ;^) BA: Ars Won't be in tonight Edward yawns William: BA: Thanks. Ellis: brb *** Mode change "+o E[C]" on #GURPS by BA *** Mode change "-o E[C]" on #GURPS by katster katster: sorry, E, spectators don't get 'em. :P :) William: I'm really not going to worry. ;) William: Let's recap the games: E[C]: no worries :) katster: brb, grabbing my dinner. William: I'm going to be keeping a calendar, since the weekly dinners are going to be a feature. (Not to mention that Relic took place in all of about three or four days. ;^) ) For the sake of keeping everyone sane around national events, we'll set last Friday as Sep. 29. BA: n/p William: We're still in the week following that dinner; tonight I'd like to run a few more personal vignettes -- one to introduce Edward -- and gather the group again at the end of the week. BA: 'k William: BA, let's start with you -- did you have a plan of action after you were left by the two strangers? This was Saturday, the day after the dinner. William: ---------Game Start ------------- *** katster is now known as Nicole *** William is now known as Will_GM BA: Not really. Just reviewing the survaillence tape and decideing if I should bug Xavier with this Will_GM: Okay. (Ooh, remind me to hand out XP before the night's over.) BA: 'k Will_GM: Let me know if you decide anything. Will_GM: Nicole, I'd like to follow up something with you. Nicole: Aye, aye, sir. Nicole: ;) Will_GM: The setting at this point is Wednesday afternoon -- the brief encounter you experienced was late Tuesday. Hmm... would you rather live in the dorms or an apartment? Nicole: Had it figured I was in an apartment. Will_GM: 'k. Will_GM: As you approach the apartment, a slight, dark-haired young man comes up to you. "Excuse me, Miss -- are you Nicole Hollister?" Nicole: "Uh, yeah. Why?" Ellis: Re - just had to get dinner. Will_GM: "My name's Rex Black. I'm a reporter with the _Daily Pennsylvanian_." (Character info: this is the student newspaper at Penn) "We saw your name in the police blotter this morning. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions." Edward: that reminds me -- bbiafm Nicole: "Okay..." Nicole: I'm taking it that the police didn't say not to mention it or anything. Will_GM: "Great!" He pulls out a notebook. "Can you tell me how it started?" Will_GM: Nope -- the encounter was almost fully what was described in the game. Nicole: "Waiting at the bus stop, when some jerk with a knife decided to jump another guy at the stop." Will_GM: *scribblescribble* "Did you know either of them?" Nicole: "Nope." Will_GM: *scribble* "The report was a little vague on this point -- were you at all hurt or injured in the attack?" Nicole: "Got tipped. Somebody helped me back in. A bit of wounded pride, but otherwise alright." Edward: b Will_GM: *scribble* "That's good to hear. Now for the real story -- what were you thinking while it was going on?" He looks up at you steadily to see the answer for this one. Nicole: "What was I supposed to think? Scared, horrified, helpless, wanting to help but having no way to do so. Isn't that what most witnesses of a crime feel like?" [snip: private messages, game-related] Will_GM: *stare*slowscribble* "I suppose so. Tell me, do you plan to testify if asked? And if so, are you worried about any retribution? The report indicated the attack might have been gang-related." Nicole: "If I was asked to do so, most likely. And I've got faith the police would do their best to protect me if it came to that." Will_GM: *scribble* "Just one last question, then. Is it true a coach here at the University came to your aid? How would you have characterized his response to the situation?" Ellis gets onscreen mention! ;) Nicole: "Fencing instructor, if I recall correctly. And I think he did the best he could to a tough situation. He got the cops on the scene, and tried to do what he could to save the guy's life. I'd call it brave." Will_GM: Oh, you're getting grilled next, Coach. :^) Ellis: Oh, wai. ;) Will_GM: *scribble* "Thanks for your time, Miss Hollister. Take care and stay strong." Nicole blinks at that last line. "You're welcome." Will_GM: He folds the notebook away, bows, and leaves. Nicole watches him go. Nicole: "Strange, he was..." Will_GM: Nicole: He leaves via the elevator, like everyone else. Will_GM: Plotting anything? Ellis: The takeover of the Catholic Church, myself -- I mean... Ellis: O:) Nicole: Not yet. Just noticing. Nicole: ...still processing. Will_GM: In that case, nothing particularly game-relevant happens for a short while. Later that evening, however, our good Coach gets a visit. Ellis is... hmm. Putting away fencing stuff, getting ready to leave campus and crash, sleep, all that good stuff. Will_GM OOCly hesitates on the proper title for Gregory Ellis. Nicole listens to Dandilions, ponders another character. Ellis OOCly asks someone who might know. Will_GM defaults to "Mr.", since he's probably not a full prof, nor at the moment a Dr. or Father. ;^) Ellis: I've heard 'instructor' and 'coach' used interchangeably... Ellis: There you have it. Will_GM: "Instructor" might work; "Coach" could do just as well, I suppose. Ellis: "Mr." as a pre-name title, though. Will_GM: At any rate, we're at your place of residence later Wednesday evening... house? apartment? Ellis: Ah? Okay. Apartment. Will_GM: Apartment it is, then. Will_GM: *knock*knock* Ellis: "Who's there?" Will_GM: "Is this Coach Ellis? My name is Rex Black. I'm a reporter for the _Daily Pennsylvanian_." Edward: What, no knock knock joke? Will_GM: This from the man who took punning as a skill. ;^) Ellis sighs, puts off happy shower thoughts for a few more minutes, and opens the door. "Yes?" Will_GM: The same man I described at Nicole's place looks up at you. "Sorry to bother you at home, Coach, but I'm trying to beat a deadline for tomorrow's edition. We got your name off the police blotter as being involved in an incident last night -- were wondering if you could answer a few questions?" Ellis shrugs, stepps back and opens the door. "All right. Come in." Will_GM: "Thank you." He does so, looking about and complimenting the design from a feng shui point of view. Ellis snorts. "I never studied Feng Shui in--never mind. Can I get you something to drink?" Will_GM: "Water would be great." Ellis goes to the sink, gets out a couple glasses and fills them with agua. "Here you go. What were these questions?" Will_GM: "To start with -- never studied feng shui in what? Will_GM: +" Ellis: "It's not important. You were talking about an incident." Will_GM: "Yes." He pulls out a notebook. "There was an attack, peripherally involving a student, in the heart of campus. According to the police blotter, you were at the scene when police arrived. Could you describe what you saw before you got there?" E[C]: good trick, describing something before you see it Ellis: "Not much. I was coming home from a late practice session with a couple students--" *pause* "The session was with the students, I wasn't coming home with them. I saw a wheelchair tipped over and stopped to investigate." Will_GM: *scribble* "So you didn't see the wounded man or his attacker at first?" Will_GM: Heh. Nice line. Ellis: "No. Only after I stopped. The student... what was her name? I should remember this..." Will_GM: "Nicole, sir. I don't know if I should mention the family name." Ellis: "Probably a good idea. Thank you. She told me to look to the wounded man. I couldn't do anything for him immediately, so I called campus security and asked them to get an ambulance." Will_GM: "You later said you would testify. The incident was said to possibly be gang-related -- do you fear retribution if you do so?" Ellis shrugs. "Not more than anything else." Will_GM: "... anything else? Will_GM: +" Will_GM: He looks at you quizzically. Ellis: "Well, I'm told the odds of catching Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome from a non-mogonamous lifestyle are one in 150." Will_GM: *blink* Ellis: This is what is known as changing the subject. ;) Edward: *snrk* Will_GM: *slowscribble* Edward: Also known as "Derailing trains of thought with a rocket launcher" Ellis smiles Will_GM: "Just one last question. What made you decide to get involved?" Nicole: I move that be made QoTN. [snip: private messages, game-related] Ellis shrugs. "There was a woman lying on the ground next to an overturned wheelchair. Something was obviously amiss." Will_GM: "And to stay, once it was possible you yourself were in danger?" BA: "Don't get me wrong. Chivalry IS dead. I was just hoping for some gratuity." :) Ellis: "Well, I wasn't going to leave without at least alerting the authorities." Will_GM: *scribble* "Allright. Thanks for your time, Coach." He folds the notebook away and turns to go. "Dominus vobiscum." Ellis: Idly, *I* don't speak Latin, just my character. ;) Will_GM: Yeah. The phrase is a common one in the Catholic church, upon parting. The reponse is "Et cum spiritu tuo"... at least, if you're a priest. Edward: " May the Lord be with you" Ellis: Thanks for telling me. Will_GM: You think Ellis would have the slightest reflex to respond? Edward: Spiritum tuum, I think. Ellis: "Et cum s-- the h--... Goodbye." Will_GM: He turns and goes, putting the glass of waterdown carfully on a coaster as he does so. Ellis closes the door behind this 'reporter' and breaks out into a cold sweat. Will_GM: Plan to do anything during the remainder of the night? Ellis: Yeah. Take a looooong shower and convince myself that the guy's probably just another Catholic student. And write in my journal. Will_GM: Okay. Next day, anyone? BA putters around with more upgrades Ellis: Go right ahead. Will_GM :Ps at Kats and Aris for not asking the obvious question. ;^) Nicole: Press credintials? Will_GM: Not so obvious, I suppose. Just joshing. Edward signs in for the graveyard shift, starts the nightly security audit running in the background. Ellis: I didn't think college newspaper people had press credentials. Ellis: HS people sure don't. BA finishes the upgrades to someone else's box, then plays around out back with Rumblestrip Will_GM: They don't. Nicole is prolly fiddling with the guitar, trying to tune it to get this week's church songs down. Will_GM: The next day, there does appear in the _Philadelphia Inquirer_ an abbreviated version of Fearless' experience with the jumper -- how much of the manifesto is included will depend on the next time I see Ars. Will_GM: Okay, Edward -- your turn. *** BA is now known as Fearless Fearless: you rang? :) Nicole: ARS! Will_GM: Ars! 'Sup. Fearless: oi, all. Edward: Wai! Ellis: Hi, Teddy Ellis RUNS Fearless: Wai not? Fearless drops the Ultimate Destructive Magic on Ellis Edward: *clicketyclickety* Will_GM: Well, good, then we can do this. Will_GM: Okay, Fearless: its about 5:00 Monday evening, after the incident with the jumper. Let me ask you this: what do you bring to the editor? And how much of that half-hour-long manifesto comes with it? Ellis: "LENNIE!" "...It's *Leonard*. Like I told you before." [5] Ellis: + Will_GM: (By the way -- UFOs? Not mentioned once in the entire thing, after that first time he asks you about it. Will_GM: +) E[C]: *poof* nighters Will_GM: Unmoo Emp. Fearless: I hand in two pieces... the first is the article relating the jumper experience. The second is the half-hour long manifesto with a sticky-note on it, that reads "I told the guy I'd print this, but please, BURY it in the back section." Fearless: cya, Emp Will_GM: Fearless: It's a face-to-face meeting. Ellis: No, no, bury it on the website. ;) Fearless: that, too. *** Signoff: E[C] (Client closed connection) Will_GM: ... Oops. Ellis: Oops? Will_GM: I just realized something, and can't believe I hadn't earlier. As a reporter, Johnny, I'd really recommend that you have taken the "Writing" skill. ;^) Ellis: *snicker!* Fearless: oops. Will_GM: You have XP coming -- let me bury a point of it in that. Ellis: Sorry, I just... *snrk* Oops, Ars. ;) Fearless: hrrm... Will_GM: Writing is a Mental/Average skill. Will_GM: 1 point would give it to you at 13. Fearless: that works. Will_GM: Done, then. Fearless: !roll 3d6+0 Daisuke: Rolls, and total, for 3 dice at 6 sides per die and a modifier of +0: Daisuke: Rolls: (6 4 6) Total(w/modifier): 16 Fearless: pass, or fail? Ellis: Fail. Will_GM: GURPS is below skill to pass. Nicole: uhhh. Nicole grabs the rulebook off the shelf. Edward watches the filesystem audit return three suspicious binaries... "Hmm. Owner... Oh. Him again. Strike three, aaaand... *clickety* You're out." *suspends account and mails the mangler* Will_GM: "You're gonna have to do a better job on this article, Johnny. Sent back for rewrite -- we'll see about it in tomorrow's edition. But *this*..." he waves the manifesto. "...I don't care what you promised him, Johnny, we don't print crazy rants from every jumper who wants to get in the newpaper." *** J-Rock (slider@dsl081-114-020.1.dsl.speakeasy.net) has joined channel #gurps Fearless: "Sorry I didn't put too much effort into it, Chief. Something about him rubbed me the wrong way... he was no ordinary jumper, I can tell you that." J-Rock watches boxing. Holeee.... Manfredy won despite landing less punches! Will_GM: "What do you mean?" Ellis: "Yeah, most people who want to jump actually *do*." Nicole: Hmmm. You're right. Why was I convinced that triple ones was a bad thing in GURPS. Ellis: Because you've been reading IN? Nicole: Most likely. Edward: Triple sixes are bad. Will_GM: If so, she'd've been playing the wrong side. ;^) Ellis: Wrong side? }:) Will_GM: Aris: You own IN? Nicole: The most recent book I read was teh Demonic Player's Guide... Ellis: Will: Yeah. And Blood Types, and Traveller, and C1. Ellis: BT is cool. :9 Fearless: "Call it a reporter's instinct, Chief. Something I can't place my finger on just yet." Ellis also has Call of Cthulhu. PH33R ME! Nicole: Gurps books? Main, C1, Alt. Earths, Alt. Earths 2, Discworld, IN, IOU, Mage, Magic, Psionics, Supers, WH23. Nicole: but I've somehow acquired a bunch of IN books too. %) Ellis: See, I've been buying DC Vertigo books instead. ;) Will_GM: By the way, house rule: any time somebody around one of my games goes "Ia! Ia! Cthulhu ftagn!" or whatever it is ICly, I give a 1 in 40-odd thousand chance of it working. :^) Ellis: Hastur, Hastur, Has... Fearless: *heh* Will_GM: "Mm. Well, whatever it is, we just can't print this. I mean, it brings readers, but there are journalistic standards to uphold, don't you agree?" Fearless: "I agree. You know, I never did promise a time frame..." Fearless: %) Will_GM: "Okay then." He plops the manifesto back on your lap. "Tell you what, give a brief description of it in the article if you want. Have it back to me tomorrow and we'll see." Ellis watches nobody try for that STR. :( Fearless: "That works. Cya, Chief." *turns to leave the office* "I need to hit the archives for something." Will_GM: "Go ahead." *turns back to computer* Will_GM: STR? Ellis: Spot The Reference Nicole: or State The Reference. Will_GM: Hastur? Lovecraft beastie, isn't it? Ellis: I meant the Memento one. Will_GM: Haven't seen Memento. Heard interesting things about from some of the film buffs in the department. Ellis: I think you'd enjoy it. Will_GM: Johnny: You soon enough get down to the morgue -- as with most large modern newspapers, now a combination of yellowing newsprint from early in the century, piles of newer editions, and high-quality digitization and restoration scanners. *** KillJoy_ (KillJoy@vsat-148-75-196-194.ssa7.mcl.starband.net) has joined channel #gurps Will_GM pings Johnny... Fearless: I'm looking through the index for a particular name... (can't remember his name from prior sessions) Will_GM: Either Xavier Montblanc, or Javier Montenegro? Or was it Zeke or King? Fearless: acutally, all four. :) Will_GM: Okay. It'll take me a while to type up the results of your search, plus I need a bathroom break, so everyone take 5. Fearless: sure Will_GM: Articles are archived online and searchably back to 1986. The results of those searches: Xavier's name comes up in connection with several articles on the food and music at the One Hit Wonder, no more often than you would expect. Zeke Leonard makes no hits. Neither does Javier Montenegro. A Wesley King was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon(sword), but he is described as black(the one you saw was white). Will_GM: Now, searches further back in the papers themselves might yield more. But those searches would take several hours each, unless you're looking for specifics. Fearless: paper index for farther back? Will_GM: Sure; you'll need to make it a narrow time frame, though. Remember, there's 365 full editions in a year. Edward watches as CPU usage on one of the servers goes active, checks, notes that it's the paper archives and that the user doing the query is part of the pweek group, sits back again. Will_GM: Johnny: If you want time to consider on this, we can move to Edward. Fearless: I'll just take the time to look through indexes by year. Fearless: move on Will_GM: Okay. Let me ponder on the results of that for a while and switch over to Ed. Ellis: brb Will_GM: Ed, you've been working hard and deserve a break. :^) I've even researched the Philly Goth scene -- would it be reasonable to find you some weekday evening at the Electric Factory, listening to a live performance by Necromantik Sunshine? Edward finishes the security audit, emails the dean of comp sci regarding a couple of kiddies in the new batch. Will_GM: Both real, by the way. Edward: Sounds good. Will_GM: Allrighty then. The band is loud enough that you need to shout to be heard, and the dance floor is packed. Nothing unusual at the moment. *** Fearless is now known as BA Edward isn't trying to make himself heard right now -- or worrying about anything other than the beat. BA: Gonna scram folx Will_GM: Unmo UL. Will_GM: +o *** BA is now known as UpLink KillJoy_: Ciao. UpLink: Later *** UpLink has left channel Will_GM: Ed: you find yourself in front of a sight which *is* unusual, here -- in the midst of the dance floor, nodding his head to the beat, is a man in a business suit taking notes with a stylus on a lighted PDA. Edward blinks once, checking if he didn't imagine it Will_GM: Nope. Will_GM: He notices you, jots something on the screen and turns it to you, lit so you can see it clearly: "May I talk to you for a second?" (thoroughly legible handwriting...) Edward blinks again, then nods and point at a place just outside the projection cone of the amps. Will_GM: (Which I must say, is something of a feat, considering that he's in the middle of a dance floor packed with Goths and surrounded by near-deafening sound....) Will_GM: He nods, and follows you. Edward leads the way, watches the volume drop once we move out of ground zero Edward: "And you are--? " Will_GM: "Ah. Good evening -- my name is Xavier Montblanc. I own a restaurant slach music venue downtown: the One Hit Wonder. Perhaps you've heard of it?" Will_GM: -c+s Ellis: b Will_GM: He looks around the dance floor for a moment before settling his gaze back on you. [snip: private messages, game-related] Edward thinks for a moment. "I think I read the online article of the student paper regarding your opening five years ago... Never went there, though." Will_GM: "Ah, good -- that is, good you've heard, at least. So you may know that I like to find young acts and give them a chance to be heard. We've shown quite a wide variety of styles, but I've yet to branch into the "Goth" scene. I was looking for someone who might be able to give me a quick overview, starting perhaps with this fine collection of musicians onstage." Will_GM: "In particular, whether they have anything you know of that they could perform at something less than a volume which would shatter my best crystal." Edward nods. "The article covered that. Good initiative, that." Ellis: *snrk* Edward: "That depends partly on the band and the specific style. Goth isn't as unified as it might seem to outsiders, and some substyles are supposed to blast out as loudly as possible..." Will_GM: He starts taking shorthand notes. Edward: "These guys are pretty good, and I guess if you convince them to stick to some of their slower work -- that's slower as in tempo, not as in level of performance -- nothing'll break." Edward: "Then there's Midnight's Children. Very good group, good act. But when Lucrecia starts singing the vocal solo to 'Raven's Tears', cover your glasswork. She's got a vocal range you wouldn't believe." Will_GM: "Thank you. You know, I had a co-worker into Necromancy once. Nasty stuff." He shakes his head ruefully. "Anyway. Do you know any of the bands? Play at all yourself? I occasionally give out finder's fees, although a night on stage..." he looks up. "Bugger." Edward: "Not personally, and yes but not in a ban-hmm?" Edward looks around Will_GM: Ed: He's looking at another couple of guys. One of them is reasonably relaxed, hanging out at the side of the room and looking around, although there's a good deal more white in his outfit than there is in, quite possibly, the entire rest of the building. The other guy's in suitably worked-in clothing, but is dancing with an unbelievable amount of energy and an apparent total disregard for the actual beat. Will_GM: The second guy does seem to be enjoying himself, though. Think Nanny Ogg. :^) Edward: ooch. gotcha. Will_GM: Oh... to "total disregard for the beat," and "complete lack of skill." :^) Edward raises Ye People's Eyebrow and turns back to Xavier. "Someone you know?" Will_GM: Xavier gets a dark look on his face. "Wish I bloody well didn't." He looks at you. "Don't let their rather stupid demeanor fool you. These men are dangerous." He seems to be attempting to drill the point home with his gaze. Edward: !3d6 [snip: offscreen rolling] Ellis: !roll 3d6 Daisuke: Rolls for 3 dice at 6 sides per die: 2 6 3 Edward: thanks. Will_GM: He shakes his head for a moment. Will_GM: "I know I've barely met you. But can I ask for your help?" Edward: "Yes." Will_GM: "I need to get out of here unseen. I think there is a back door, but I know tey're already watching me -- and you too, come to think of it. Can you distract these men momentarily?" Edward looks thoughtful for a moment. "Probably. Hold on." Edward: "Wait for it, then scram when the time's right. You'll know." Will_GM: He slips you a business card with the address of the restaurant on it. "Here -- Fridays at 7. I... have a suspicion you'll fit in." Edward nods, pockets the card, then turns and walks back into the dance area and resumes moshing, keeping mental track of the two guys. Edward , after a while, stops and looks sharply at something across the crowd to the front entrance Edward angrily yells something that is utterly drowned out by the noise and starts rapidly elbowing his way there, a look of fury on his face. Will_GM: The crowd barely notices -- except for the ones you elbow directly -- although the inside bouncers take note, and look both at you and for what you're looking at. Edward gets to the other side of the crowd, stops and looks around, wondering where the hell they went. "*murmured, japanese* I could've sworn..." Will_GM: You also attract the attention of the dancing fool, and shortly thereafter his friend. Will_GM: Roll 3d6 again, please? Edward: !roll 3d6 Daisuke: Rolls for 3 dice at 6 sides per die: 6 4 1 Will_GM: Just as Necromantik Sunshine finishes their set, a sound loud enough to be heard and felt over the climax breaks through the set. Roughly one-third of the dancers are pained -- you are not, and neither are the two who you were concerned with. Will_GM: Xavier, however, seems to have slipped off into the darkness successfully. Edward looks around with everyone else what caused the racket. Will_GM: Nothing visually obvious. The two men, however, seem peeved at something. One of them looks suspiciously at you, while the other dashes off towards the back of the room. Edward , when he notes the look, looks back with an "Excuse me, I'm new around here, have we met?" expression on his face. Will_GM: He comes up to you. "Why'd you do it? Why did you interfere?" Edward: "Nani yo?" Edward: Trans: "huh?" Will_GM: He blinks at you. Will_GM: He mutters, "Japanese," and then something else. Edward looks politely confused. Will_GM: He looks back up at you. "Okay, I know you can understand me now. Why did you do that?" Edward replies in japanese, "Do what?" Will_GM: (He said it in English, by the way, although there's something resembling a Japanese accent to it...) Will_GM: !roll 3d6 Daisuke: Rolls for 3 dice at 6 sides per die: 3 4 5 Will_GM: "Bah. Play dumb then." He looks around for his fellow and heads toward the back of the building. Will_GM: The crowd, too, is starting to recover from the... whatever it was. Edward shrugs and watches him go, wondering HOW THE HELL he did that translation thing. Will_GM: Hm? Edward: (the goon, I mean) *** Signoff: Nicole (Ping timeout) Will_GM: The guy himself didn't seem to do any translation -- he only spoke English, albeit oddly accented during that last exchange. *** Nicole (katster@stk-ca-pw-6-1-53.internetuser.net) has joined channel #gurps Will_GM: re. Nicole: re Edward: yeah, but the 'understand me now' thing... Like he was expecting me to hear japanese or something. Will_GM: Ah, yes. Quite Will_GM: +. Edward listens to the music for a bit, finds that his head's not in it right now and strolls outside to his motorbike. Will_GM: Did I just put on the transparent skin when I went to GM tonight or what? %^) Edward: No, Edward just happens to be this perceptive. Will_GM: Ed: As you pull out on your motorbike, you notice the two guys in the parking lot. They quite obviously note your license plate as you go. Edward makes a mental note to ask jts to keep an eye out if someone's doing lookups next time he sees him. Will_GM: jts? *Edward* JTS == Jack T. Stephens, fellow bofh at the feds Will_GM: Mmkay. Will_GM: At this point we can call it a night, or speed ahead to the next Friday... votes? Edward puts on his helmet and gloves and drives home Edward: I'm good for a couple hours more. Speed ahead? Ellis: Friday would be fun. Will_GM: Very well. Nicole: Yeah. Will_GM: we should note that by Thursday, Fearless' article is in the paper. Will_GM: Everybody roll 3d6... Nicole: !roll 3d6 Daisuke: Rolls for 3 dice at 6 sides per die: 4 2 6 Nicole: :) Will_GM rolls for the NPCs. Edward does some net.lookups on the One Hit Wonder, more out of habit than looking for anything specific Edward: !roll 3d6 Daisuke: Rolls for 3 dice at 6 sides per die: 1 4 5 *** Nicole is now known as katster Will_GM: Leaving, kats? katster: no, doing some tweaking that needs my nick. Ellis: !roll 3d6 Daisuke: Rolls for 3 dice at 6 sides per die: 2 3 1 Will_GM: Ah, 'k. *** Mode change "+o katster" on #GURPS by OperServ *** katster is now known as Nicole Nicole grins. This is where it's nice to be an oper. %) Will_GM: Heh. Actually, Greg, you're not in a position to notice anything. Ed, you notice that the 'jumper' is the same guy who was dancing like it was 1999 at the club. Fearless puts a different face to the jumper -- whom he hadn't seen, due to having closed eyes, when he was getting the article. But in the art, his eidetic memory pns the face -- he was one of the five men originally at the OHW last week. Will_GM: He says as much to you all that evening. Ellis: GM: Think we should introduce each other to each other first? Will_GM: Yeah. One second... Will_GM: Ed, your net.lookups on the OHW reveal that there is indeed a wide variety of bands that play there; unfortunately, most of them do not go on to do all that well, although an occasional musician does well. There are some online newspaper articles giving it decent reviews; it's also mentioned in connection with a lawsuit or two. Seems the kitchen workers don't take well to transients asking for handouts. Will_GM: Bad enough that a couple have had to be detained after an assault on one. [snip: private messages, game-related] Edward: Hmm. Interesting but probably not related. Edward remembers the translation, scratches that to "not likely to be related" Will_GM: Ed, Ellis; would you prefer to arrive early or late? Edward: Early. Ellis: Early. Ellis: ... well, 'punctually', whatever that means. Will_GM: Okay -- the two of you arrive first. Xavier shows you the table where the regs sit and introduces the two of you to each other. Edward: on the point of your sabre? Ellis: I should hope not. Bloodstains take forever to wash out, you know. Will_GM: Woo, wait, hold on. Will_GM: Edward is seated. Xavier doesn't actually know Ellis yet. :^) Ellis: Uhhhhhh.... Will_GM: Nicole, go ahead and arrive to rescue Coach Ellis. :^) Ellis: He does according to the last conversation I had with Nicole. Will_GM: Erp? Hang on... Ellis: If you want to retcon that, fine. But it did get entered into the record. Edward orders double espresso. Will_GM: Ah, yes. Okay. Ellis: I said that I knew him, but up until now I'd had work on Friday evenings that kept me from making the regular meetings. Ellis: So I didn't really know anyone else. Will_GM: *nod* Ellis: Will_GM: "Gregory! So good you could finally make it. We have another first-timer here, Edward. Ed, this is Coach Gregory Ellis, a fencing instructor at Penn. Please, have a seat. The rest should arrive soon." Nicole rolls in, then. Ellis: "Thank you. Hi, Ed. Unless you'd rather be Edward." Ellis looks over. "Hi, Nicole. How are you doing?" Will_GM: Hm. My userlist shows UL, but he signed off a while back, didn't he? Edward nods in greeting. "Ed will do." Edward: yeah, he's gone. Will_GM: 'k. Nicole: "Hey, Coach. Goes well. What's up with you?" Ellis: "Please, it's just Greg. I've only been doing this a year and a half, and that still feels strange." Nicole: "Heh, couldn't remember your first name. Just remembered that weird newspaper reporter. Nicole: +" Ellis: "Well, we're even, then, since he had to remind me of yours." *pause* "Same reporter, I expect... did anything seem odd about him to you?" Nicole: "He asked some ODD questions for a newspaper reporter. Almost like he was trying to size me up." Nicole: "And he ended the conversation by telling me to stay strong. Weird, I say." Ellis frowns and thinks back over his own conversation with the man. "I'd almost forgotten that... he just seemed to be on the wrong tack for a campus newspaper." Nicole: "Yeah. And considering you and me were witnesses...wait a second." Edward blinks. "Eh? Forgive me, I seem to have walked in on the middle of a conversation..." Ellis smiles at Ed. "Sorry. We were both witnesses to that... attack the other night. Her more than me." Nicole: "Oh, sorry...Ed, was it? Had a bit of an interesting experience last week, and Greg here was my knight in shining armour." Grins as she says that. Edward: did that ever make the newspaper, out of curiosity? Ellis: "Just in the right place at the right time." Will_GM grins. *That* was the "obvious" question I had referred to. :^) Ellis: Huh? Will_GM: Ed: You read the _Daily Pennsylvanian_ pretty thoroughly, one would suppose, working at the University... and you don't recall seeing such an article appear. Nicole: "But anyway...as I was about to say...they don't put witnesses names into the police blotter, do they?" Edward blinks again... "And you say a newspaper reporter interviewed you? Which paper?" Will_GM: Nicole: Not usually. Nicole: "Campus paper, he said." Will_GM: Fearless, in fact, would probably confirm that. Edward BLINKS. Nicole: "Didn't bother to check, though...busy. Midterms and stuff." Edward: "There was no reference to any incident involving either of you in any edition of the campus paper for the past few months." Ellis shrugs. "I didn't think about that... and I normally read the BBC online. Not so much into the campus routine." Edward says this slightly slowly, as if a LOT of processing power is currently being rerouted for other purposes. Ellis: "Strange." Nicole: "Weird. Really, really weird." Ellis: "... and strange he was lying about it, if he was so devout..." Will_GM: A waiter comes by. "Pardon me, madam, this note was brought for you by the gentleman at the entrance." He hands a note to Nicole. "Drinks, anyone?" Ellis: "Yes. Cranberry-grapefruit SoBe, please." Edward: "Another double espresso, please." Ellis: Nicole: "Green tea." Nicole opens the note. Will_GM: Nicole: "May I join you?" Nicole looks towards the door to see who's asking. Edward: "Oh, and if Mr. Xavier has a minute, there's something I'd like to ask him about last Tuesday..." Ellis grooves to Even Angels Fall by Jessica Riddle Will_GM: It is a tall, blond, muscular man in a light-grey business suit. As he sees you look at him, he smiles a little wistfully and places a hand low on his left side. The gesture makes you realize -- he's the man you saw stabbed. Will_GM: *to Edward* "I will deliver the message, sir." Nicole blinks. "Guys? You mind if we have a guest?" Will_GM: The waiter moves off to a table call. Edward looks at Nicole, then shrugs as if to indicate that being a guest here himself, he has little say but no objections. Nicole waits for the other answers. Ellis looks up. "Who..." He looks over at the man at the door, tries to remember where he's seen him before, and finally recalls the face. "Sure." Will_GM: Fearless doesn't mind either, or BA. Nicole nods then and waves, as kind of a gesture to invite him over. Will_GM: As the man comes over, Fearless casually mentions, "He was also one of those guys on the first night, too." Ellis: Eeek! Magically appearing NPCii! Will_GM: The man settles into a chair a trifle carefully. "You have a good memory, Mr. Ferrifous." Will_GM: "I hope my appearance here doesn't alarm you," he says to Nicole and Gregory. "Our last encounter was not exactly sedate." Ellis: "Mmm, that it was not. Are you all right?" Edward raises an eyebrow. "Another player in the 'interesting' events you refer to?" Nicole: "I sorta noticed. So how are you?" Nicole nods at Ed. Will_GM: "The wound is healing. It was not much to begin with. Thank you for your concern, but I will be well. Indeed, it is your safety I am more worried about." Ellis: "Us?" Will_GM: BA nods. "You mentioned that after you stopped surveilling my house." Nicole: "Why?" Ellis glances at Nicole. "I didn't even see the other man... but apparently, someone found out about me with very little effort." Edward raises the other eyebrow as well. "Indeed? Do tell..." Will_GM: *to Ellis* "Yes. If you're concerned about how we found you, it was quite mundane. There are very few fencing teachers at the University. A simple directory search easily narrowed the possibilities." Ellis snorts. Nicole: "Heh. Prolly harder to find a student, but then again, I'm not exactly the sort that blends into the crowd..." Will_GM: "The one you... Xavier. He is building a circle of friends here. Normally, a strong community is its own purpose, but... have you ever wondered why?" Ellis: "Having never really been a part of said community until tonight... no." Edward: "Yes. That *is* one of the things I was planning on asking if and when he arrives." Will_GM: He nods at Edward. "He cannot risk the scene he would like to make -- we are not fast friends -- but he will ask me to leave when he gets here." Nicole: "Well...no. Thought it was just people he found interesting." Ellis smiles. "So you're here to raise doubts about the trustworthiness of our friend?" Will_GM: *to Nicole* "I imagine you are as right as you could be -- however, his interest in you is self-interest. Of this I am sure." He drops his eyes. "I understand I am speaking against a friend to whom you may well be loyal." Nicole just tries to process everything. Will_GM: "And, I -- we -- have engaged in duplicity. But it was necessary. We had to know -- what kind of people you were. Whether you were informed, or not. Whether --" Will_GM: Xavier comes up to the table. "You are *bothering* my *friends*, Cabbage." Ellis: GM: Can you let me respond? Nicole idly taps out a beat on the table as she tries to put the pieces together. Ellis: Or not, but hey. Will_GM: Ellis: Sure, sorry. Place it anywhere you like in the convo. Edward shrugs. "I currently have no feelings either way. Just a few questions in my mind that I'd like answers to, and I'm prepared to trust his word so far." Ellis: "Considering that you--or your associates--dug up dirt on me that you had no business finding, and asked me impertinent questions in my home under false pretenses... well, I'm willing to let you go because of your injury, but I'd appreciate being left alone for *once* in my life." Ellis: Yaay, I got to say 'associates' IC. ;) Ellis: Stick that right before Xav comes over, if appropriate. Will_GM: Sure. Nicole hears Greg, adds that to the puzzle steadly growing in her head. Will_GM: Xavier comes up to the table. "You heard Gregory. You are *bothering* my *friends*, Cabbage." Will_GM: The man gets up, a trace of irritation in his face. "Waiting for that first blow, snake." He leaves, quietly and without fuss. Will_GM: Xavier sits down, tea in hand. "Weirdo." Nicole drums her fingers on the table a bit more. Nicole: "Weird week." Ellis: "Weird month." Nicole: "We're not getting into a weird timespans arguement." Ellis: "Sure we are." *smile* Edward watches that scene with a studied air of detached interest, all the while processing. Edward turns to Xavier. "I take it there is some... history.. between the two of you?" Nicole: "Not going there, sorry." Will_GM: Xavier looks at you. "Whatever he said, don't let it bother you." He turns to Edward. "Not us personally. But he is a member of a group -- I hesitate to use such a crude word as 'cult' or 'commune,' but they place the good of the whole above that of the individual. Believe me when I say he would not hesitate to throw his body in front of a train should his superiors order it." Nicole waits for Xavier's answer. Edward: "That is not neccesarily a bad trait." Ellis: "Strange that they'd be Catholic..." Nicole says nothing, is thinking, . o O (Altruism is wrong? Okay, the superior thing is a bit weird, but...still.) Will_GM: Xavier shakes his head. "No? Loss of self-interest, subsumation of personal identity in deference to thr group? Sounds more like 1984 to me." Will_GM: "But there is more, if you wish it." Ellis: "Not 1984. Brave New World. The sublimation of identity in deference to the group in the former was out of pressure and fear, not altruism." <-- I am not going to make Greg a lit major. I am not going to put Greg in my English AP class... Edward shrugs and spreads his hands. "That will not be necessary. I was merely wondering." Will_GM: "I can't pin anything, of course. They are a secretive lot. But an investigation might reveal, rather quickly I think... unexplained bodies. Missing persons, people without pasts. You might try such a search." Will_GM: "Edward, you must have seen that I was fearful when they found me. You may not know me well at the moment, but I told you these men were dangerous, and I spoke the unvarnished truth." Will_GM: He looks at the rest of you. "And they have contacted you. Have they been open, honest? Have they explained their motives and their interests? I should wager that they have not, have they?" Ellis: "A lot of people are dangerous, Xav." Edward nods. "That was something I'd like to know, yes. Just how many languages do they speak?" Nicole continues tapping out a pattern on the table. Ellis: did I just hit a lagspike? Edward: dunno. Edward carefully does NOT respond with "Have you?" Will_GM: Xavier barks a short laugh. "Quite a few languages, Ed. I probably couldn't enumerate them all. I will admit that they have a broad appeal in this country." *** Ellis has been kicked off channel #GURPS by Daisuke (flood) *** Aris_TGD (aris@A010-0697.SNFC.splitrock.net) has joined channel #gurps Will_GM: Re. *** CTCP PING 1002433028 from Aris_TGD replied *** Mode change "+o Aris_TGD" on #GURPS by Will_GM *** Ellis (aris@A010-0697.SNFC.splitrock.net) has joined channel #GURPS *** Mode change "+o Ellis" on #GURPS by Will_GM Aris_TGD: Did anything happen between my getting floodkicked and rejoining? Will_GM: What was the last thing you saw? Aris_TGD: Xavier barks a short laugh. "Quite a few languages, Ed. I probably couldn't enumerate them all. I will admit that they have a broad appeal in this country." Nicole singmutters, halfheartedly, "oh, the games people play now..." Will_GM: Aris: Nope. Edward: "That was not quite my question. When one of them approached me to ask me why I did what I did, I responded in japanese. He spoke again in english but assumed I could understand him." Aris_TGD: Cool. Thanks. *** Aris_TGD has left channel #gurps Edward leans slightly forward for the hundred dollar question: "Why?" Will_GM: Xavier looks at you. "The most likely answer, albeit a politically incorrect terming? He was crazy." Will_GM: Hold on a second, I have to roll something. :^) Will_GM: Carry on. Edward: .oO(Bull) "I see. That would explain it, then." Ellis eyes Edward, closes his eyes and visibly forces down an urge to start banging his head on the table. "Oh, Mary, Mother of God, if this is another one of These situations, please protect me with your loving grace..." Ellis: "Fuck." Edward: *blink at Greg* "Eh?" Ellis opens his eyes again. "Never mind." Will_GM: Xavier looks over at Ellis. "I didn't catch all of that. But I can say that Mary's less likely to help you that a good 9mm at the moment. I recommend you get one." Will_GM: s/that/than/ Edward has one. Edward: (not with me though) Will_GM: Check the gun laws in Philly. I know I will. :^) Edward: gotcha. Will_GM: BA owns hisself a thoroughly illegal weapon that I'm just dying to do something with. %^) Ellis: "I didn't know you spoke Italian, Xav." Will_GM: "I don't. I do know who 'Maria' likely refers to, though." Edward: I do have the necessary licences and permits, though. Will_GM: Good. Ellis: "Fair enough." Nicole looks at Ellis, but doesn't say anything. Tries to fit the pieces together some more. goes back to tapping out an idle beat on the tabletop. Will_GM: "A lot of this is like that. There'll be some weirdness in the days to come. But a lot of it is more mundane than you'd fear. Or, I don't know, hope." Ellis sighs. "It's the mundanity that truly worries me." He looks around. "Are your waitstaff getting lazy, Xav?" Will_GM: He looks up. "Mm? Oh, no, I'd skin 'em and tan the hide for a raincoat if they were lazy. Still, I'd probably better go check on them..." He stands up. "Maybe I can catch a few minutes this evening. Later, all." Nicole waits for Xavier to go. Ellis leans back and rubs his eyes. "It would be one of These weeks, wouldn't it. And national semifinals coming up." Will_GM: He goes. Will_GM: Back into the kitchen, if you need it. Nicole: "Is anybody else not having the puzzle pieces fall into place?" Ellis: "Myself. But I'm used to it." Nicole: "His answers seemed too pat. Both of 'em." Edward: "Yes... But at least some of the pieces start taking shape... I'm not convinced we have them all. Now, if it would not be too much to ask, could you fill me in on the altercation 'Cabbage' referred to?" Will_GM: I can't believe that roll made... Ellis: "Nicole saw more of it than I did." Edward idly starts drumming his fingers on the tabletop Nicole nods. "I was at a bus stop, waiting for a ride home, and he was waiting at the stop with me. Then suddenly, this jerk of a punk comes running out of nowhere, somehow gets this metal thing to tip over and fall, *hits the side of the chair* and goes and stabs our friend Cabbage." Edward: for anyone who knows a HELL of a lot of music, it's the rhythm to 'I always feel like somebody's watching me') Nicole: "And then Greg there showed up, and tried to help the both of us. Had a bit more success with me, but looks like he did good work with the other guy too." Nicole: "I still don't understand how this got tipped, it's difficult to do so, unless you're making a really sharp turn." Nicole: "But that's about all I know." Edward: "I see. Or rather, I do not -- something like that WOULD be in the news, and I don't recall any references. I'll have to see what I can find out." Ellis frowns. "The man looked a lot worse when they put him in the ambulance. I didn't think he'd be walking for another week." *pause* *shrug* "Of course, my knowledge of medicine is highly limited." Edward: "Oh? How /did/ he look?" Ellis: "Gutwounded. Quite nasty." Nicole: "He was bleeding bad. That punk had caught him good." Ellis: GM, feel free to correct me if playermemory is screwing up. Will_GM: Nope, doing fine. Nicole: Same here. Ellis: Coo. Edward: "And that was this week?" Edward: Do I even need to roll first aid to spot the discrepancy? Nicole: "Yeah. What day was it?" Will_GM: And even if it were, on details like these playermemory screwing up can frequently be character memory screwing up -- a good parallel. Ellis: "Mmmm. Wednesday night, if I recall correcrly... I've been working hard these last couple of days, and they all run together." Will_GM: Ed: Not with another trained person already pointing it out. Edward: Just verifying. Will_GM: Oh, the attack was Tuesday night, the "reporter" the night after on wednesday. Ellis: I thought that was Thursday. But whatever; I can be wrong IC. Nicole: "It was earlier in the week, I thought. I had a midterm on Thursday, and that day doesn't stand out as weird. Gotta be Monday or Tuesday." Ellis: "You're probably right." Ellis: "... But it was this week." Edward: "My meeting with Xavier was on Tuesday." Ellis: "Oh? Meeting about what?" Edward: "Meeting as in 'encounter' -- he approached me at a concert I was at." Ellis: "Ah." Edward: "Asked my opinion on various up and coming bands, then noticed he was being tailed and asked my help in distracting them, and gave me this address and time." Nicole taps on the table again, as if she was playing a really simple song on a piano keyboard. Edward tries to place the tune, looks at her finger movements. Will_GM: Conversation seems to have lagged as characters process information... call it a night? Nicole: "Where is Thumbkin/Are you sleeping" is kinda what I was doing. Nicole: Yeah, prolly a good idea. Will_GM: ------------ Session End --------------- [snip: private messages, game-related]