Hilary Term 2007 - English Language and Literature

[Knave]

OOC

IaM - On a miss, you reveal some information to the monster or whoever you are talking to

TyG - the Keeper will tell you a general direction to go. Take +1 forward as you explore that

As the tall porter locks the door again, you all feel slight warmth in the air around you. Those among you who are the most attuned to such things have a faint sense that something has just taken notice of you.

For Ekram, the sensation is more specific. His eye is drawn out of the corridor window, into the main quad, and to the out-of-place untidy tangle of cones, tape and tarpaulin that encloses and conceals a central section of the neatly manicured grass.

A handwritten sign is attached to the nearest cone:

DANGER

 

Edited May 2 by Knave (see edit history)

[DoNotFearToTread]

In Brief

Ekram

The Wronged

Stats: Charm +1, Cool +0, Sharp +1, Tough +2, Weird -1

Harm: ○○○ / ○○○○

Unstable: ○

Luck:  ●●●●●○○

Exp:  ●●●●○

Playbook Moves

I Know My PreyYou get +1 ongoing when knowingly investigating, pursuing or fighting the breed of monster that caused your loss.

DIY SurgeryWhen you do quick and dirty first aid on someone (including yourself), roll +Cool.

On a 10+ it’s all good, it counts as normal first aid, plus stabilize the injury and heal 1 harm. On a 7-9 it counts as normal first aid, plus one of these, your choice:

• Stabilise the injury but the patient takes -1 forward.
• Heal 1-harm and stabilise for now, but it will return as 2-harm and become unstable again later.
• Heal 1-harm and stabilise but the patient takes -1 ongoing until it’s fixed properly.

Never Again!In combat, you may choose to protect someone without rolling, as if you had rolled a 10+, but you may not choose to “suffer little harm.”

Trust Your Gut (alt Weird)When you consult your instincts about what to do next, roll +Weird:

• On a 10 or more, the Keeper will tell where you should go. Wherever that is, it will be important. You get +1 ongoing on the way to this place.
• On a 7-9, the Keeper will tell you a general direction to go. Take +1 forward as you explore that.
• On a miss, your instincts lead you into danger.

InvincibleYou always count as having 2-armour. This doesn’t stack with other protection.

** Chosen move, Advancement **

 

Vague Signs are Still Signs

As the man lingers in the doorway and the Doc seems lost in his own head, Ekram turns away from the gathering to cool his head. This motion drops his eyes on the scene outside and on any other day he likely wouldn't have even given it a second glance. Stepping away from the group, he approaches the window and squints hard on the gathering of construction gear tarped over in the quad. A hole that they're filling, maybe? Or some kind of pipe burst and flood situation? But if that's so...

"...why not put it on sign?" The words leave his lips unbidden, loud enough to be heard by others in the hallway, which commits him to the idea. Glancing back over his shoulder, he motions with a tip of his head toward the cluster. "Why only put Danger on sign? No specifics?" His gaze levels on the little man with his little keyring and large attitude and he scratches his jawline as the wheels in his head spin. He calls the porter over to point out the tarped over section of the quad. "What is that out there?"

Generally speaking, Ekram's hunches tend to lead him into trouble. This seems likely to be no different. But there are times when going into danger is the only way to get a solution to a problem. They'd all seen that plain enough not long back. As he directs the porters attention to the mess, he looks past him to the others and taps the side of his head, then points to the site and mouths the word "wrong".

OOC Stuff

N/A

Edited May 6 by DoNotFearToTread (see edit history)

[Knave]

The porter flicks a glance out of the window as he pockets his keys. "Sinkhole" he explains. "Opened up last night. Only me on today, haven't had time to put up a proper fence yet. Only about five foot deep, but enough to break a leg if someone wasn't watching. The kids cut across the grass at night. I told the Dean, I reckon it's cos the council stopped desilting the Isis. There's six inches of water sitting in bottom of it."

He is keen to be gone. "I gotta get back to the desk. If I see Alice, I'll tell her you were looking for her." He leaves you in the corridor.

[emotionaut]

Sophie

●○ the Monstrous ○●

StatsCharm -2, Cool +2, Sharp 0, Tough 0, Weird +3

Harm: ○○○ / ○○○○

Unstable: ○

Luck:  ○○○○○○○

Exp:  ●●●○○

Moves

Unnatural AppealRoll +Weird instead of +Charm when you manipulate someone.

Dark NegotiatorYou can use the manipulate someone move on monsters as well as people, if they can reason and talk.

ImmortalYou do not age or sicken, and whenever you suffer harm you suffer 1-harm less.

Unquenchable VitalityWhen you have taken harm, you can heal yourself. Roll with Cool. On a 10+, heal 2-harm and stabilize your injuries. On a 7-9, heal 1-harm and stabilize your injuries. On a miss, your injuries worsen.

IC

Sophie scribbles a hasty note on a scrap of paper and prepares to slip it into the doorjam near the knob. Then she stops herself, realizing it's pointless. If Alice is in trouble, she knows well enough to be in touch. And if she's not, she's not the type to appreciate their gaggle calling on her like this.

It's the tiniest of conundrums, occupying her mind when she has no other idea of what to do. Thankfully, Ekram seems to pick up on something. And anything is better than staring at a closed door and wondering. "Grand. Let's be havin' a look," she says, crumbling the note in her hand and shoving it into her pocket. "But failin' this, we're callin' hospitals. Not leavin' anything to chance, at all, at all."

OOC

I'll Investigate a Mystery.

Clearly I am overwrought with worry for Alice.

Edited May 7 by emotionaut (see edit history)

[Knave]

you reveal some information 

Just as Sophie suggests they explore the the quad, the porter returns. He frowns. "Couldn't remember if I locked it." He tries the door. It's locked.

"Time for you all to head off. It's getting late. Thinking about it, I probably should put some hoardings up around it before it gets completely dark."

 

Edited May 7 by Knave (see edit history)

[Ezeze]

 

The Reverend Dr. David Beaumont, Professor Emeritus Sheet

Luck □ □ □ □ □ ■ ■

Harm □ □ □ | □ □ □ □

Experience □ □ □ □ □

 

David might be having an 'off day,' but Ekram is on to something. Time to get our new friend out of the way so he can poke around.

 

"Oh, that's a good idea, putting hoardings up. Better than letting someone hurt themselves, yes? Let me help, then. It's been a bit since I've been around Merton, but the storage is down this way right?"

He assumes the air of a confused old man and sets off, hoping to pull the porter in his wake - and give the others time to investigate further.

 

OOC

I'm going to spend my banked advance to increase Charm, which works because it's where I was thinking about putting it anyway, then roll to Manipulate this NPC.

 

Edit: I attempted the roll and failed, but I don't want everyone floundering around with nothing further to do until something happens. Not with Alice's life on the line. So I am going to go ahead and spend a Luck point - Mr. Porter happens to have, or had, a beloved old grandad who got a little confused sometimes, too, and he's got a soft spot 😄

 

Edited May 9 by Ezeze (see edit history)

[Knave]

The porter seems pleased. "That's great, I'd appreciate the help. There's supposed to be two of us on every shift, but you know James is sick this week and we share maintenance guys with the Examination Halls, but they are having an issue with the lifts. I didn't like leaving it like that, it doesn't look great. We'll have it done in no time."

They leave together, presumably to fetch some temporary fencing and secure the sinkhole in a less ugly way. They'll be back on the quad in a few minutes, and this corridor is deserted.

[DoNotFearToTread]

In Brief

Ekram

The Wronged

Stats: Charm +1, Cool +0, Sharp +1, Tough +2, Weird -1

Harm: ○○○ / ○○○○

Unstable: ○

Luck:  ●●●●●○○

Exp:  ●●●●○

Playbook Moves

I Know My PreyYou get +1 ongoing when knowingly investigating, pursuing or fighting the breed of monster that caused your loss.

DIY SurgeryWhen you do quick and dirty first aid on someone (including yourself), roll +Cool.

On a 10+ it’s all good, it counts as normal first aid, plus stabilize the injury and heal 1 harm. On a 7-9 it counts as normal first aid, plus one of these, your choice:

• Stabilise the injury but the patient takes -1 forward.
• Heal 1-harm and stabilise for now, but it will return as 2-harm and become unstable again later.
• Heal 1-harm and stabilise but the patient takes -1 ongoing until it’s fixed properly.

Never Again!In combat, you may choose to protect someone without rolling, as if you had rolled a 10+, but you may not choose to “suffer little harm.”

Trust Your Gut (alt Weird)When you consult your instincts about what to do next, roll +Weird:

• On a 10 or more, the Keeper will tell where you should go. Wherever that is, it will be important. You get +1 ongoing on the way to this place.
• On a 7-9, the Keeper will tell you a general direction to go. Take +1 forward as you explore that.
• On a miss, your instincts lead you into danger.

InvincibleYou always count as having 2-armour. This doesn’t stack with other protection.

** Chosen move, Advancement **

 

Checkin' Out That Hole (not like that!)

As David leads the porter away Ekram glances to the others, then the door, then the hole in the quad. The sneer that pulls on his lip is brief but the disdain for the pushy little man lingers in his eyes.

"Give some people little bit of power..." It's a mutter as he steps away from the window. Alice's room seems like the easier place to inspect but he can't shake that tingle on the back of his neck about the damn sinkhole. It may not be related to their present concerns, but his gut tells him that it has significance and so he motions through the window.

"I'm checking that out." He moves quickly out to the quad, knowing that the porter will be headed that way once David's distraction has run its course. Pulling the tarp away from the makeshift barriers, he tries to piece together what exactly about the seemingly minor natural disaster has him to focused.

OOC Stuff

Let us Investigate a Mystery on this, following my earlier hunch. The +1 will definitely help on that.

An 11. Man, so many questions I want to ask.

Let's try 'what happened here?' and 'what is being concealed here?'.

Edited May 9 by DoNotFearToTread (see edit history)

[Knave]

Beneath the tarp is a hole, maybe two feet in diameter and five feet deep.

It is not natural. You see that immediately. The curve of the earthen wall forms a perfect circle, not a ragged pit. It didn't just happen. It was made. In the bottom, as the porter said, is a shallow pool of standing water.

At the very lip of this opening, you see two sets of footprints: one an unremarkable set of trainerssneakers, the other a pair of overly large and overly round impressions without any discernable tread. No prints leave the hole.

Peering in once more, in the mirrored surface of the water you see the reflection of dark clouds drifting. You glance up instinctively, but knowing already what you'll see: in Oxford, the sky is clear.

 

 

[emotionaut]

Sophie

●○ the Monstrous ○●

StatsCharm -2, Cool +2, Sharp 0, Tough 0, Weird +3

Harm: ○○○ / ○○○○

Unstable: ○

Luck:  ○○○○○○○

Exp:  ●●●○○

Moves

Unnatural AppealRoll +Weird instead of +Charm when you manipulate someone.

Dark NegotiatorYou can use the manipulate someone move on monsters as well as people, if they can reason and talk.

ImmortalYou do not age or sicken, and whenever you suffer harm you suffer 1-harm less.

Unquenchable VitalityWhen you have taken harm, you can heal yourself. Roll with Cool. On a 10+, heal 2-harm and stabilize your injuries. On a 7-9, heal 1-harm and stabilize your injuries. On a miss, your injuries worsen.

IC

Sophie waits until the hallway is clear and then has a look at the lock on Alice's door. She glances at Annika, knowing the young witch would probably be eager to try her hand at magicking the door open. But sometimes the simplest approach is best. She takes out a credit card and slips it into the gap...

After a few moments, she hears a satisfying click. "Grand."

OOC

I'll Act Under Pressure

Edited Tuesday at 01:15 PM by emotionaut (see edit history)

[Knave]

The door opens outwards, with the tidy bedroom visible beyond. But when Sophie makes to enter, she can't. The doorway might as well be a wall. The reason is clear enough with a moment's searching: all around the inside of the doorframe, where the closed door would conceal them, intricate sigils and runes have been carved.

[Gregorotto]

⛤᛭⛤ StatsCharm -1, Cool +2, Sharp 0, Tough +2, Weird +1 ⛤᛭⛤

 

Harm: ○○○ / ○○○○

Unstable: ●

Luck:  ●○○○○○○

Exp:  ●○○○○

Moves

Cast Out EvilCast Out Evil: You may banish an unnatural creature from your presence. Roll +Tough. On a 10+ it is banished. On a 7-9 it takes a little while for the banishing to take effect—the creature has time to make one or two actions. Either way, the banished creature is unharmed, and you have no control over where it goes. This move may be used on unnatural hunters (e.g. the Monstrous). On a miss, something is keeping it here. That’s bad.

Lay on HandsLay On Hands: Your touch can heal injury and disease. When you lay your hands on someone hurt, roll +Cool. On a 10+, heal 2 harm or an illness, plus they’re stabilized. On a 7-9, you can heal the harm or illness as on a 10+, but you take it into yourself. On a miss, your aura causes them extra harm.

No LimitsWhen you push your physical body past its limits, roll +Weird:
• On a 10 or more, your body obeys your will, to the limits of physical possibility (see below), for a moment.
• On a 7-9, you do it but choose one consequence: suffer 1-harm, take –1 forward, or you need to rest right now.
• On a miss, something goes horribly wrong.

Advanced No Limits. If you advance your no limits move, add this:
• On a 12 or more, you can continue acting at your body’s limits for 30 seconds.

For the purposes of this move, “physical possibility” means “conceivably possible for a human.” For example:
• Physically Possible: Lift an SUV, Jump over a truck, Punch through a wall.
• Not Physically Possible: Lift a building, Fly, Punch a blast of energy at a foe.

SmiteSmite: Your body and divine weapon always count as a weakness against the monsters you fight. Your unarmed attacks are 2-harm intimate hand messy.

IC

Content to let the others lead, Hal is quiet and follows the lead of his superiors as best he can. When Sophie attempts to enter and finds her way barred, he ponders and like the others, the sigils prove an obvious answer as to why. "Oh for the love of.... Anyone got any ideas? Otherwise I can try to do some damage to uni property. Wouldn't be the first time since I got here. Tear the damn frame off the hinges, eh?"

OOC

Investigate a Mystery, likely gonna roll if I need to deface public property as mentioned.

[emotionaut]

Sophie

●○ the Monstrous ○●

StatsCharm -2, Cool +2, Sharp 0, Tough 0, Weird +3

Harm: ○○○ / ○○○○

Unstable: ○

Luck:  ○○○○○○○

Exp:  ●●●○○

Moves

Unnatural AppealRoll +Weird instead of +Charm when you manipulate someone.

Dark NegotiatorYou can use the manipulate someone move on monsters as well as people, if they can reason and talk.

ImmortalYou do not age or sicken, and whenever you suffer harm you suffer 1-harm less.

Unquenchable VitalityWhen you have taken harm, you can heal yourself. Roll with Cool. On a 10+, heal 2-harm and stabilize your injuries. On a 7-9, heal 1-harm and stabilize your injuries. On a miss, your injuries worsen.

IC

Sophie tries to play off her inability to enter the room as hesitation, but it's too little and too late. This is bound to raise questions, but finding out what happened to Alice is far more important than keeping her own secrets.

Stepping to one side, Sophie says, "Here, come and humor me. See if you and Annika can enter. The porter seemed to be havin' no trouble. Seems more likely she blacklisted me than whitelisted him."

OOC

I'll Manipulate Someone in hopes it gives Hal +1 for searching.