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?

At this point, we had a brief digression. I mentioned the Hocus Focus playset for Fiasco. Avram had an idea of a Fiasco playset along those lines with James Bond Villain's Minions, with the tilt being "And the James Bond arrived..."

Other people were invited, such as a bunch of My Little Pony fans (who should probably have been an Aspect, and I'm still not how hoards of chanting normal people should be handled). Arthur also invited Reverend Willard, the Unitarian City Chaplain, just in case, oh, there needed to be an officiant for a wedding.

As for what to do if Audrey Finch showed up, well, with House Raith there, maybe mud wrestling?

Jimmy: Hey, I could get a pool 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!

Arthur arranged for a cake and talked to their friend Boris down at the gym.

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

That sounded good enough to Boris as a reason to come.

Arthur: No one please use the cake in the fight!

Someone: How can you -not- use the cake?

Everyone made their way to Liberty Island. Aspects included:

• Cake
• Vampires fighting
• Mud Pit
• Arthur: I have the Proper Permits
• Jimmy: Materials on Hand (to fix the statue)
• The Orerry that was Better Than New
• Kelly: I know how the ritual was done
• Kelly: Dirt and grass from Liberty Island
• Bernard: The Apple

By now Josh had arrived.

So, the vampires had their own fight off to the side, and I didn't worry about that. Bernard, in a sudden-but-inevitable betrayal, reversed his Apple Jack robe, revealing the costume of Nightmare Moon! (I gather there was a better MLP villain to use, but my familiarity with MLP, while existent, isn't that great.)

Vic, as the emissary of Ninkilim, aka Lord Rodent, moved to stand with Bernard. Basically, here's how the villain factions more or less worked:

Audrey wanted more fear, and didn't really want the wards on Liberty Island renewed. A plague god awakening and spreading plague in the city was Just Fine.

Ward and June Cleaver wanted despair. They didn't care whether the island was warded or not, but if it was, they wanted the wards tweaked to include things that would maximize despair, and they wanted the plague god awake and active.

Bernard wanted to control how the wards got set. He didn't care whether or not there was a plague, but having one would be just fine. Intimations of mortality from the plague and from the apple which now had the energy from the Brooklyn Clocktower ritual would drive more people to be willing to do anything not to die or to keep their loved ones from death, and that's where the Denarian could do his work.

Vic was a vessel for Lord Rodent, and Lord Rodent had planned to stand with the plague god. But, Vic also had formed a Budding Friendship with Arthur, who had consistently treated him with compassion and respect, and indeed, the two were now roommates. (Arthur was fine with rat pets -- this wasn't against any law.)

Arthur's roll to convince Vic to change sides was successful. Vic liked Arthur and Arthur's city, and he moved to stand with Arthur and Kelly.

This meant that the Weight Class for Team Good was now 4 for the purpose of casting the ritual: Vic's Emissary of Lord Ninkilim mantle applied, but his Lycanthropy mantle didn't. That was the highest mantle, at Weight Class 2. Arthur's True Faith and Kelly's Minor Practitioner mantles applied, adding 1 each, for a total of 4.

That was certainly enough to do the ritual, especially given the work over the entire game to get all of the necessary elements and ingredients in place. And, at the moment, they were working unopposed, for Jimmy and Kara squared off against Bernard.

Bernard had three mantles: Wizard (3), Denarian (2), and Hellfire (2). At several points, folks stopped me as we did a quick check to see which ones applied. The consensus we reached was that when he was attacking, he was at 5. He was often at 4 on defense, I think -- it might have been 5 sometimes? Anyone remember? When he tried to wrest control of the ritual, he was at 4, as Hellfire did not apply.

This meant:

• Jimmy, acting alone, was at Weight Class 2, Emissary of the Winter Court, at a disadvantage of 2 or 3 -- until we realized we forgot that he could add in his Changeling Troll-Blood Mantle.
• Kara, acting alone, was at Weight Class 1, Einherjar, at a disadvantage of 3 or 4, depending on what Bernard was doing.
• Jimmy and Kara acting together were at Weight Class 3 -- and, once we remembered Jimmy had two mantles that applied, at Weight Class 4 -- at a disadvantage of 2, 1, or 0, depending on what we remembered and what was going on.

It would have been easier if I'd packed the cheat sheets Avram made me or if he remembered he had them on his tablet, but the real issue was how things broke in play. This was deliberate on my part, as I wanted to know where and how they broke.

Bernard started with a psychological attack against Jimmy, using the free invoke he had for having been Jimmy's therapist, although this didn't do a lot. Kara wound up at a disadvantage, so Josh created an Aspect to reflect that.

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

His plan was to create an Advantage at the cost of sacrificing herself, given that if you have a PC who can come back from the dead, you want to have fun with her dying from time to time. This didn't work out because of the Weight Class rules. Essentially, after a self-compel to waste an action, he couldn't make a roll to do what he wanted. He could only overcome and defend.

This led to a lot of talk. It's not that Josh could do nothing. But, he didn't like the options. Putting all the Weight Classes in one pile, which I admit is how I expected things to go, felt boring. Attacking the ground, rather than Bernard, to create a Door to Valhalla, while totally an option, and the one I think he eventually went with, felt like playing the system, not the game. Eventually, Josh was persuaded to hand the fate point back. He wasn't suffering the lack of fate points, and I didn't want to make him stick with a situation where Kara couldn't do cool things.

She and Jimmy managed to do some damage to Bernard, giving him a consequence of Angry. We weren't sure whether Jimmy could loan Kara his Emissary-ness by loaning her the hammer, but one way or another, possibly with both of them guiding the hammer (anyone remember?), they knocked a hole in the ground that would lead to Valhalla.

Jimmy (or was it Arthur?): We're going to have to fix that!

My notes say:

Create advantage
Attack
Bernard: WC5
+2 +2
Th Th

I'm not sure of what all of that meant.

My notes for Jimmy say "J -- WC2 +4 -> -2 WSan Not a lot of Psych here" -- I think this meant that Jimmy was trying to use psychology on Bernard, but not doing a very good job, and that Gareth said, "There's not a lot of psychology here."

Jimmy and Kara combined mantles, so they were now Weight Class 3 working together, with Josh making the roll for Kara. Kara was using her best approach, Flashy, and Invoking Bernard's Anger.

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.