29 October 2014 Session

Josh was delayed at work, but managed to arrive in time for the big ritual on Liberty Island. Gaylord had done some research about Liberty Island. Apparently, it is available for weddings, but these are only allowed at night. One needs a minimum of 500 guests, and I think one is limited to an hour, though I'm not sure on that last point. The paperwork for the correct permits are handled for the couple, for free, as the wedding will be rather expensive to begin with.

So, Arthur contemplated asking Audrey Finch, his mortal enemy with whom he had a budding romance, to marry him.

Someone: Apparently, the correct forms are filled out in your heart.

Regardless, he wanted to make sure that they had the appropriate permits. Otherwise, they would be trespassing!

Jimmy: I would trespass to save the city.

Arthur: But are we saving the city if we're breaking the law?

Jimmy: Arthur, man, that's conflicted stuff that goes on in your brain.

Arthur / Gaylord: No, I have an even worse idea than that!

Rather than propose directly, what if Arthur got Audrey to come to the island and sort of, oh, tricked her into believing that she wasn't really getting married to him when she was?

Me: Ms. Piggy tried that on Kermit!

He did have an alternate plan, I think.

Arthur: Huge walls around Liberty Island -- it's either that or get married to her. (musing) I don't even know if she'd say yes.

Me: To the walls?

Arthur: To the wedding.

However, there was a saner way to get a permit for a ritual on Liberty Island. Arthur used his skill as a bureaucrat, with Bernard signing off on it, to say that Vic Nim needed to have a religious ceremony on Liberty Island, and that it would be at least 30 years before conditions were again right. Audrey tried to block this, but after last session's defeat, she was more hated than feared. Arthur now had the Advantage: I Have the Proper Permits.

He sent Audrey email asking if he could meet her on a personal matter. She replied that he could drop by basically when the work day ended. He showed up five minutes early and spent that time awkwardly, ah, admiring the, er, filing cabinets.

When Audrey was finished, he asked her out to dinner. He'd even brought her flowers, lilies, I think.

Audrey (boggled): Should I... put them... in water?

Arthur: I can make it into a corsage.

She agreed. He still insisted that it wasn't a date. (After all, we know he doesn't date vampires!)

Jimmy's Player: Wait, this is your second NotDate.

Kelly's Player: Traditionally, on the third NotDate, you have NotSex.

Kelly and Jimmy met with Jimmy's Uncle Bash, who gave Jimmy a hammer from the Winter Court as a token of the court lending him a Mantle: Emissary of the Winter Court, Weight Class 2. Jimmy would, of course, owe the court, and he and Bash spat to seal the deal.

Someone: Potion of Troll Spit.

Naturally, the restaurant where they were making this agreement is the one where Arthur took Audrey for some oysters and sparkling wine. Jimmy and Kelly stared, Jimmy rather worried that Audrey had used some vampire mojo on Arthur.

Jimmy: Doesn't he look kind of glassy eyed?

Kelly: Don't they -both- look kind of glassy eyed?

Gaylord wanted to upgrade the Budding Romance to Crazy Stupid Love. I thought that this was moving a bit too quickly, so I set a Difficulty of 8, which turned out to be way, way, too low. Gaylord had a 5 after rolling, plus he could invoke Budding Romance for free, so he only needed to Invoke one Aspect.

This is why I have said that I don't care what words you put next to the numbers -- I needed to have had a better sense of what the player could easily reach to make the task appropriately difficult.

Someone: Did Arthur propose marriage --

I forget the context of this:

What have you told Vic?

Nothing -- good luck! Bye!

Regardless, the PCs had aid from House Raith and the Winter Court. The Winter Court's aid was a Mantle with Weight Class 2. House Raith's aid was to send White Court vampires to oppose Audrey and the Cleavers, who were also White Court vampires. I figured that this meant that when I revealed the hidden villain, the White Court vampires could fight it out off to the side so that I had fewer complicating factors. I was trying specifically to test Weight Class and see where it broke.

Jimmy had fixed the orerry that Kelly had found so that it was now Better Than New.

Jimmy: I even took Pluto off.

Kelly: Put it back on -- it's still a planet mystically -- symbolically.

Arthur, who can sew, had made robes for everyone -- My Little Pony robes.

Kelly: Do we have to have tattoos on our butts?

Jimmy: I'm not having a tattoo on my butt!

Gaylord: Arthur puts the tattoo machine away.

Pony Robes:

• Jimmy = Apple Jack? No, Pinkie Pie
• Kelly = Twilight Sparkle
• Kara = Rainbow Dash
• Vic = Fluttershy
• Arthur = Rarity
• Bernard = Apple Jack

A question about warding came up: Does warding work against humans? The text of Dresden Accelerated didn't seem to answer this, but we all thought that it doe NOT work against humans. Is this accurate?

Meanwhile, Kelly was suspicious of Bernard, who Just Happened to have led the perfect ritual while claiming not to know anything about magic. (I forget if there were other things tipping her off, but I really wasn't going for subtle here.) So, she decided to slip into Bernard's apartment while the therapist was at work.

She was able to use her magic (Earth) to open the lock. There didn't seem to be any special wards up. There didn't seem to be any Secretly Evil Books. Bernard had a computer, but it was an old, rather crappy model. (Again, we had a brief moment of not-quite-confusion as Dresden Accelerated Alpha doesn't have rules for modeling a wizard's problem with technology.)

Avram: Does Bernard's apartment have a hidden room?

Me: No, this is still a New York apartment.

Kelly started going through drawers. In one of them, she found a silver coin that whispered to her. Recognizing one of the 30 Denarii, she recoiled. I offered Avram a fate point to trigger Kelly's trouble. So, because Kelly is Easily Flustered, she broke a flower pot, clear evidence of her presence.

She did take the coin, being careful not to touch it with bare flesh. It was possible, perhaps, that Bernard was keeping it safe, but highly unlikely. It was more likely that, oh, he had a coin of his own and had left this one here to tempt anyone breaking in to a strangely unwarded place -- well, if he had been a wizard for some time, it certainly was strange.

Kelly got into a cab with Jimmy, still shaken. She brought him up to date.

Jimmy: We can't tell Arthur about any of this!

Meanwhile, Arthur was meeting with Audrey. He had figured out some budget cuts that could be made to trim away actual fat.

Arthur's Romantic Gesture: I know you like cuts, so here are some cuts for you.

Avram: It's like the mix tape of bureaucracy.

Audrey, of course, did not want to make that kind of cut. She wanted to make cuts that would keep people afraid and miserable.

Arthur invited her to the ritual on Liberty Island. Audrey was probably as surprised as the players and I were, but kept her focus.

Audrey: Might I bring a couple of friends?

Arthur: I don't see why not.

Meanwhile, in the other scene:

Jimmy (in blissful innocence): So, what are we gonna do if Audrey Finch shows up?

Digression: Hocus Focus -> Avram's idea of James Bond Villain's Minions, with the tilt being "And the James Bond arrived..."

Reverend Willard, Unitarian City Chaplain

Mud wrestling

Jimmy: Hey, I could get a poo of mud going...

Kelly: You're going to video tape this and sell it on the internet?

Jimmy: No! Hey! That's a great idea!

Boris <- There's supposed to be some Babylonian mud wrestling on Statue of Liberty and cake will be served afterwards.

No one please use the cake in the fight!

How can you -not- use the cake?

V - 2, A - 1, Kl - 1 -- total of 4

Kara's Self Compel: I have him right where he wants me.

Overcome question: How to use with Weight Class? Rules don't let Kara sacrifice self to get Bernard out of the picture

Door to Valhalla

Compel and waste an action -- not able to make a roll. -Only- overcome and defend.

Overcome obstacle should be a gate to somewhere in Valhalla

Attacking ground

Jimmy: We're going to have to fix that!

Create advantage

Attack

B-WC5

+2 +2

Th Th

J -- WC2 +4 -> -2 WSan Not a lot of Psych here

J + K = WC3 Roll into K's role. K is Flashy -- tag Bernard's Anger. WC3 attack 5 vs Bernard's WC1 Defense 1. 2 diff illeg w/style

Can players use NPC's Weight Class debt?

2+1 -- you've been holding back!

Jimmy: Well, I didn't want to hurt him. He's my therapist!

Seize Control -> WC3 + 1 (2) = 4 vs 2 + 1 + 1 = 4 + 1 = 5

+2 +3 = 5 -> 7

-> 4 -> 6 -> Angry -> 8

Punch hole to Elsewhere -> Punch Him to Elsewhere

Arthur: As long as you -fix- this.

-> WC Attack 4: 4->2

-> WC Defense 5: -1 -> 1

Elsewhere you will go!

This is a historic monument! Don't hurt the grass!

Kara invoking Winter Court mantleness -- because it's a magical hammer

It can punch him through into Valhalla -- or Jotunland <- Arthur: This still does not solve any problems!

Kara goes through hole with him cuz it's cool.

Rainbow Bridge -- cuz it's cool.

Arthur: Guys, let's finish the ritual and have some cake.

Yes an apple

Arthur might not like that

Arthur: Oh, there's historic areas

• Vic: Ninkilim: NYC is Rat Friendly. Someone: That's no different.
• Jimmy: Winter Court: Frozen in Time -- some places can be, and that's okay
• Kara: Odin: Heroes in the Street? No, Lines in the Sand.
• Kelly: Changing Austerity Politics to Prosperity Politics -- Just a little twist to the apple: Mortality = "Eh, you can't take it with you."
• Arthur: Only in New York!

What? This is our third NotDate!

Jimmy owes House Raith

Arthur -> I think I'm finally over Kara -> I'm working things out with Audrey.

Audrey: What's. Your idea. Of a date?

Arthur (looking around): Pretty much this.

Kara: Mist? Mist?

Mist nuzzling Kelly.