Love, Demons, and a Desparate Cry for Help

[Jeffrey Straszheim]

Howdy folks,

I thought I'd give an update on all this.

First off, thanks for all the ideas.  Everyone was a huge help.

I let the various suggestions stew around in my head for a week and came up with this.  Ralph's ideas about politics at the station were just too good to pass up, so I integrated them into the situation, but managed to keep the kicker more-or-less in tact.  I'm pretty happy with what I have.  So, without further ado ....

The player's notes remain the same, except for the "Important NPC's" section, which has been redone (see below).  There was a minor change in the kicker.  In the original a boyfriend shot his girlfriend at the food court.  In the new version is was a husband shooting his wife.

So, here is the Important NPC's section.  I will give my GM notes in the next post.  The player gets to read this stuff as you see it.



"Firecracker Greg"

Goes by Gregory among his friends.  He's a hot-shot morning DJ on
"Power Rock Radio WYRD!", but hitting his mid-thirties is getting
somewhat past him prime.  He's divorced, collects overpriced Harley
Davidson motorcycles, and smokes smuggled Cuban cigars.  He's tall, a
bit gaunt, but still has a full head of hair.  Oh yeah, and he
practices the Blood Sorcery of Thuul, which he first learnt from the
preposterously titled Black Book of Bones.  No one was more surprised
than him when the magic worked.

He has mainly used his powers to get chicks, money, and set himself up
with a sexy job.  But it is getting old.  He took on an apprentice,
this yummy little number who works upstairs.  He just wanted to bag
her, but inexplicably his demons insisted that he teach her stuff.
Anyhow, she's been a quick study and actually has pulled of some magic
of her own.  But "Firecracker" is getting tired of waiting for,
y'know, the Big Payoff.


Anne:

Anne is Maggie's sister.  She is a shade past thirty, has short dark
hair, wears faux-intellectual black-rimmed glasses, and dresses rather
conservatively in greys and earthtones.  She's a partner in a small
advertising agency (12 employees), and lives in an apartment in the
trendier part of Coconut Grove.  She has a new boyfriend, who she met
at church, Richard.  He's an architect from Coral Gables.

Anne is actually a pretty solid person, and has kept up with Maggie
throughout all the problems in the family.  She's taken on the rather
thankless role of peace-maker.  The girls manage to have lunch
together at least a couple times a week.


Bobby:

Bobby is Greg's always down on his luck brother.  Currently he is
working for a rental outfit doing small engine maintenance, but he
gets stoned at work and will likely lose his job soon.  Gregory is
constantly having to bail him out of tough situations, for which Bobby
shows little appreciation.  He doesn't live with Greg anymore, having
been thrown out a few years back, but still lurks about the place.


Jen:

Jen is Gregory's ex-wife.  She was a real hottie at age nineteen, but
is now hitting thirty and starting to show a bit of age.  She makes up
for it with really great clothes.  She lives off the divorce
settlement, doesn't have to work, and keeps a few trophy boyfriends
around.  She knows all the "right people", and regularly sees
Greggory, where she is sure to show off her latest hunk.  She can be
"had", if supplied with cocaine.


Mr. Adams:

Mr. Adams is the district manager of Farx Communications.  This means
that he manages a half dozen local radio stations all owned by one
nationwide media company.  He is the boss of Maggie's direct boss.

There has been much pressure, both from corporate and within the local
offices, to change the WYRD format.  Firecracker Greg would likely
lose his job if this happened.  Mr. Adams has been the one consistent
voice resisting this change.


Silvia:

Silvia is the local director of marketing.  However, it is well known
that she is also the eyes and ears of the corporate office, sort of an
intra-company spy reporting on goings on in the stations which don't
get officially reported.  She is a vocal critic of the WYRD format.


Ricardo:

Ricardo is a Latin music DJ, currently languishing on an AM station.
He would just kill to get an FM spot, and hopes that the now
vulnerable WYRD may change to a Latin format giving him an opening.
There are rumors that he is sleeping with Silvia.


Angel:

Angel is a young Biscayne Boulevard street-walker, and also currently
host to Maggie's demon.  Maggie has cleaned him up pretty well and
dressed him nicely.  He's in rather poor shape physically, HIV
positive, and off his meds since the demon took him.  He's still alive
in there, and although is personally has been pretty well suppressed,
he can still sense what is going on around him.  He's very afraid.


Sister Maria:

Sister Maria is a modern day nun.  She doesn't dress like a penguin,
but does wear very modest clothes.  She spends most of her time
involved in local Catholic charities, helping people and stuff.  It
turns out she is Angel's real life sister, and is perhaps singularly
responsible for keeping him on his meds and not in too much trouble.
Since his possession she has had no contact with him, and is very
worried.  She calls him "Angelo", with a soft g.

[Jeffrey Straszheim]

Still reading all of this? :)

Ok, so here are my GM notes, detailing the situation, and a list of potential bangs.  I didn't stat out each NPC.  Those not included will simply roll 2 or 3 dice for everything, as I see fit.  I surely won't use all the bangs; some are mutually contradictory, but I expect I have enough  not be left without ideas during play.

GM notes.  The player does not see this.

The situation:


A few months back Greg failed in performing a summoning.  But actually
he didn't fail, the demon did arrive after Greg had turned away.  His
brother, Bobby, was lurking about, saw what was going on, and bound
the demon.  Bobby is now fixated on getting back at his brother for
all the unfairness in life.  The demon spies on Greg, and has taken to
ruining his life.

The events in Anne's kicker are related to this.  The woman (Jenny)
shot by her husband (Mike) was having an affair with Mr. Adams.  The
young man who suicided (Jake) was his illegitimate son (from another
relationship) who Adams was paying off to keep the whole thing quiet.
Greg knew this stuff (from his own devices) and was using them as
low-grade blackmail to ensure Adam's support in keeping WYRD alive.
Bobby is throwing a big wrench into this situation.  The man killed in
the car, however, was a customer of Bobby's who had complained about
his smoking pot at work.  In each case the demon used a combination of
Taint and Suggestion to drive the victims mad.

Bobby also thinks that Greg is in love with Maggie, and is messing
with her.


NPC's


   Name: Firecracker Greg
Telltale: Gold ring of bones
Stamina: 3 Natural Vigor
   Will: 5 High self esteem, Zest for life
   Lore: 4 Adept
  Cover: 5 Radio DJ
  Price: -1 on any roll that requires he trust another person
Humanity: 2

Greg's demons:

   Name: Lucio
   Type: Inconspicuous
Telltale: Low mumbling
Stamina: 4
   Will: 5
   Lore: 4
  Power: 5
 Desire: Competition
   Need: Time on air
 Powers: Cover (funny guy), Fast, Sp. Dam (lethal, claws), Big
  Bound: Gregory +1
  Notes: tiny, lives on Greg's person.  Is a regular "guest" on
         Greg's show.

   Name: Moonbat
   Type: Parasite
Telltale: Host has extra "voice" in his laughter
Stamina: 3
   Will: 4
   Lore: 3
  Power: 4
 Desire: Mayhem
   Need: An occasional bar fight
 Powers: Vitality, Protection (from all poisons), Perception (hearing)
  Bound: Gregory +2
  Notes: when not in host appears as bubbling mist.


   Name: Anne
Stamina: 4 Clean living
   Will: 6 Belief system (Evangelical Protestant), High self esteem
   Lore: 0
  Cover: 6 Advertiser
Humanity: 8


   Name: Bobby
Telltale: "Haunted look"
Stamina: 3 Natural vigor
   Will: 3 Rageful and vengeful
   Lore: 1 Naif
  Cover: 3 Mechanic
  Price: -1 Pothead
Humanity: 1

   Name: Moebius
   Type: Inconspicuous
Telltale: Mote of light
Stamina: 5
   Will: 6
   Lore: 5
  Power: 6
 Desire: Corruption
   Need: To cause suffering
 Powers: Travel, Sp. Dam (non-lethal, shock), Taint,
         Psychic Force (whispered suggestion),
         Perception (dark secrets)
  Bound: Bobby -3
  Notes: The Psychic Force manifests itself as a whisper-in-the-ear
         effect.  Its "damage" only effects attempts to resist
         suggestion.  Combined with Taint, this can lead to rather
         unfortunate behavior by the target.


   Name: Mr. Adams
Stamina: 2
   Will: 5 High self esteem, Zest for life
   Lore: 0
  Cover: 5 Business Executive
Humanity: 4


   Name: Angel
Telltale: Dark fingernails (see Magnus)
Stamina: 2 HIV Positive
   Will: 4 Zest for life
   Lore: 0
  Cover: 4 Street walker
Humanity: 0
  Notes: When Sister Maria is with Angel, or at least seeing him on a
         daily basis, his humanity is raised to 1.  Magnus's cloak
         won't work on Sister Maria when Angel is the host.


   Name: Sister Maria
Telltale: Rune scarred on leg
Stamina: 3 Denial of the flesh
   Will: 6 Belief system (Catholic), High self esteem
   Lore: 4 Follows all manner of Caribbean occultism (Santoria, etc.)
  Cover: 6 Nun
  Price: -1 Problems keeping dogma straight
Humanity: 8
  Notes: Has a crucifix set up as a Contain with 7 dice.




Big Bandolier of Bangs

* Mr. Adams does not come to work, but lots of police show up asking
 questions about him. (They've connected some dots.)

* While Maggie is with Anne, Magnus/Angel shows up and makes very
 inappropriate remarks to Anne.  He also acts as if he's Maggie's
 kinky lover.

* Magus demands that Maggie provide his need RIGHT NOW!

* While Magus is acting out his need on Maggie, Anne walks in.

* Greg demands that Magnus possess Mr. Adams to prevent him from
 revealing the blackmail to the police.

* Greg demands that Maggie help in killing Silvia and Ricardo.

* Or, Silvia and Ricardo are murdered, and it is clear to Maggie that
 it was done by Greg. (Perhaps she finds a body, or gets dragged in
 by police for questioning.)

* Greg delivers an ultimatum to Maggie to stay at his house this
 weekend (for obvious reasons).

* If Magnus leaves Angel, Greg and/or Magnus try to kill Angel to stop
 him from talking about what he's seen.

* Same as above, but for any other possession victims.

* For any number of reasons, Greg attacks Maggie.

* Bobby tries to turn Maggie against Greg.

* The police notice that Maggie is a common element in the current
 goings on and and begin harassing and tailing her.

* Sister Maria recognizes Angel in public somewhere.

* Sister Maria manages to capture Magnus in her Contain and takes him
 back to her convent for a formal Banishment.

* Out of spite, Magnus possesses Richard, and begins playing his
 little need games with Anne.

* Moebius shows up to cause trouble.

* Jen shows up to cause trouble.  She has been zapped down to zero
 Humanity by Moebius.

* Greg murders Bobby, binds Moebius, and uses it against Maggie to
 break her down, for obvious reasons.

* If Maggie and Greg are together, and both pretty banged up (hehe),
 Bobby shows up with Moebius and gives his "Mom always loved you
 best" speech.  Then he tries to kill them, Maggie first.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Jeffrey,

Here's what I found I'd scribbled in the margins, after I'd printed out this thread and read through it.

1. Lucio and Moonbat need to be up to something, or invested in something interesting, whether it's connected to the relationship map or not. Might they be competing to see who'll be the one to nab Greg?

2. Moebius is key. What's its agenda? We know Bobby's, but, frankly, so what? Perhaps it does not intend to kill Maggie at all, but rather would prefer her as a master. Or perhaps it badly needs help. Give this demon a starring role!

(and later, in the Bang section) - Don't forget that the opening scene is Moebius + Maggie, and no one else except maybe Magnus/Angel. The GM better have a strong handle on playing Moebius to generate passion, interest, and excitement. "I'm a mysterious mote of light" isn't going to cut it. [and the bandolier-entry that says "Moebius shows up to cause trouble" gives me a distinct twitch; it implies to me that all the GM is ready to do is "be mysterious"]

3. What's with the ultra-high Humanity for so many NPCs?

4. Regarding the Bang bandolier, I'm seeing a lot of confrontations for Maggie. I suggest mixing it up with appeals to her from people who need her on their side or who are just plain in trouble. Or whole new avenues ... say the police begin tailing her. Why not play a given police guy as a straight-up, decent, handsome fellow? If the player takes to him, there you go - a whole new thing going on.

I'm also seeing a distinct lack of the demon agenda - shouldn't at least a few potential Bangs be the attempted capture of a sorcerer by his or her demon?

Best,
Ron

[Jeffrey Straszheim]

Hey Ron,

Good point on the demons.  Up to now I haven't thought of them as characters per se, just sort of, y'know, "demons".  I see why that's a problem.

"Ooooo ... I'm a mysterious mote of light!!!"   :)

On high Humanity, I'm not really sure on what scale NPC Humanity should fall.  As in, what was Ghandi's Humanity score?  Looking  again, however, Anne's should probably be dropped down.  I'm pretty sure I want Sister Maria's score to be quite high, given who she is.

I didn't list demons capturing their sorcerer in the bangs, but I did have that idea in mind, just that it would follow naturally from a zero Humanity sorcerer.

A handsome decent cop. Hmmmm.  It turns out I have a hard time doing sympathetic male characters.  I'm sure that fact is up to its elbows in Sex and Sorcery implications, given that I'm playing with my wife.  I do see what you're saying, though, with appeals for help and such.  I'll probably have to let it stew for a few days until something hits me.

Anyhow, thanks again.  All of this is invaluable.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Jeffrey,

Regarding Humanity scores, remember, do not use Humanity as a a "goodness" meter. Given your Humanity definition, think of it as the character's history of love.

Quotin' you:

Not the watered down, universal brotherly love, but the love between family members, very close friends, and romantic lovers.

So let's take a nun, or anyone deeply committed to "people in general." Can you see that by your definition, such a person probably has a low Humanity score? Effort to others at that abstract level usually entails giving up some attention to close friends, family members, and (obviously) romantic lovers, perhaps even when such people need it.

Most especially, high or low Humanity doesn't mean high or low capacity for love. A character with a low Humanity, which is to say, who has rejected or otherwise sacrificed opportunities to act on this sort of love, might now want to achieve that sort of love more than anyone!

Best,
Ron

[Jeffrey Straszheim]

* sound of hand slapping forhead *

Of course!  You're right about the Humanity thing.  Looks like I'll have to lower Sister Maria's Humanity quite a bit, and otherwise rethink her.

Now, to put you on the spot, what Humanity score would you give Anne?  As in the exact number?  Not that I'll slavishly follow you're recommendation.  I just want to get a feel for your scale.  Keep in mind she's: solid with her parents; solid (so far) with her sister, even throughout the family issues; in a good relationship; and so on.  Is 8 stratospheric?



Here are some thoughts on the demons.  I'm just "thinking out loud" here.  (And, for others reading this:  Don't make my mistake!  Remember that the demons need to be fully realized characters.)

Their desires:

Lucio: Competition
Moonbat: Mayhem
Moebius: Corruption
Magnus: Creation and Artistry

So, I'm thinking Moebius is a real bad apple, even by demon standards.  The thing is, Moebius hasn't been on Earth that long and rather likes it.  It would like to delay the whole "steal a sorcerer" thing for at least a little while.  However, it's clear that Bobby is on a collision course, so Moebius is looking around for a new master.  Its choices: Greg or Maggie.  Maggie is the more stable of the two, so it is going to temp her to help it break from Bobby (or just take him out) and bind it.  It's not going to be honest, of course.  I think its first line might be, "Please help me.  I'm enslaved."

(By the way, the -3 binding strength means 3 dice in the demon's favor.  It's hardly enslaved.  Also, its current need doesn't work.  It could just kill Bobby and supply itself.  I'll have to fix that.)

Now Moebius has a problem.  It wants a more stable sorcerer, and it desires corruption.  I don't think it can maintain both.  This is fine with me.  I see no reason that a demon should be wise regarding its desires (to say the least).  The question is, can its master weather the storm?

OK, I like Moebius.

Moonbat likes violence.  He isn't a very deep character.  I shall allow myself the luxury of one simplistic demon.

Now Lucio.  Lucio likes competition.  Hmmmmm.  With whom?  Moonbat is a pushover.  Magnus?  Aha!  Moebius of course!

See, Lucio wanted Greg to summon Moebius.  Told him all about it: this demon that had all the abilities Greg would need for the looming political fracas at the station.  Lucio is bored and wants Greg to fall apart soon, and wants the extra honor of beating a worthy opponent when stealing Greg.  And it was dopey, loyal Moonbat who screwed up the summoning.  And when Lucio finds out that Moebius is actually here .... well something will happen.

Now Magnus.  Creation and Artistry is a bitch.  I mean, do we really want a demon setting up a bunch of pink islands in Biscayne Bay?  So, I've been thinking of it as a rather aesthetic version of Corruption.  It views its need as performance art, and wants its art to be seen.  This is, I confess, rather thin.

Magnus clearly needs to have an opinion on Moebius.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Jeffrey,

I'd put Ann's Humanity at the highest of either her Stamina or Will, just goin' by the basic character creation rules. No sweat, no strain. You might be going a little far with your "... Must ... justify ... every NPC's ... scores!" habits.

Hey, you know what you're resisting? Liking Magnus. Exactly - clearly you like this demon. Clearly you feel some guilty pleasure in what it's about, even knowing that its presence as-a-demon is a negative thing for Humanity/Love. Know what to do now? Indulge your darkest self when playing it. By "darkest," I do not mean your capacity to gross out other people (which is what most people do when they try to be "dark"). I mean, read over what you just wrote about Magnus. Now apply it to Maggie's ambitions about the radio station - radio is art, man! Totally! Appealing, in a kind of sick way, huh?

Cool. Do that.

Now, thinking about that upcoming first scene, you have these Moebius (whom you also like) and Magnus face to face. Are you ready to put these two "parts of your brain" together as a player, by playing these two demon characters simultaneously? Are you ready then, as a GM, to do so in such a fashion that your fellow player sees her character protagonized, i.e., given massive crisis for major decisions? Are you ready as a husband to communicate all of this to your actual wife, using any and all real-life relationship cues to make it the absolute center of your shared attention?

Best,
Ron