CCC 01

"Asylum, or The Return of the Yellow Sign" is the final scenario in Golden Goblin's "Tales of the Crescent City" and as sequel to Kevin Ross's Hastur scenario that made many of us sit up and see the possibilities of that being in Call of Cthulhu scenarios. Weeks, if not months, before we finished Eternal Lies, I'd wanted to run Asylum for Martin and Vito, assuming they survived. Martin's player noted that Jeremiah's player could be available to play Jeremiah as a full PC. I decided to stick with those three characters, unless Amelia's player happened to be available. She wasn't, alas, but gave me enough guidance that I knew how I'd be playing her.

I checked with Oscar Rios who told me that I'd need at least two four hour sessions to run this. Miraculously, we were able to find two evenings a week apart -- this was one of the reasons I kept the number of players small. We might have done better with three sessions, but we did quite well with two.

This left the task of converting the scenario from Call of Cthulhu to Trail of Cthulhu. Christopher Smith Adair was wonderful. He helped me with advice and mechanics throughout Eternal Lies, and now walked me through converting the scenario. First, he reminded me, Trail itself has guidelines for doing the conversion. I bounced my conversions of the creatures the PCs were most likely to tangle with off him, and he assured me that I was on the right track and made a few suggestions, many of which I incorporated.

The rest of the NPCs were easy enough to convert, and most of the spells I needed were either in Trail on in one of his conversions. I forget whether it was Masks of Nyarlathotep or Our Ladies of Sorrow, as I have compiled the spell descriptions from most of the conversion files into one file as my own Trail grimoire. One of these days, I shall add the core book's material as well, and perhaps Rough Magick's.

I don't pretend I've done a full and complete conversion of Asylum, and I did not use the template. What I had were scattered notes and an annotated printout of the scenario, a quick and dirty conversion geared specifically to the three player and their lovely, broken investigators.

Christopher had reminded me that the core clues needed to get to players and PCs without a Spend, but neither of us were worried about that part. That the whole core clue business is the topic of heated discussion and confusion for many baffles me, as it's always seemed easy and common sensical to me. Sure, I needed to _identify_ the core clues, a good exercise before running a scenario in any case, and I made some notes about which skills might work and what might be a Simple Spend, and I gave some thought to leveraged clues. But, I had this, and I knew it.

(I also play with very smart people, which doesn't hurt.)

Converting the NPCs was the tricky part, as it involved calibration and feel. I started with a more or less by the book conversion, then ramped up or down, using my best guess. The minor mob boss and Chief of Police? They should have a Hit Threshold of 4, which meant if the conversion didn't give them Athletics 8, I did. The Cornish sisters had a Health of roughly 4, but I noted below that "(1 hit)". Someone else I figured would take 2 hits. And, in theory, there shouldn't be a lot of combat.

(There wasn't a lot, which was good, as we didn't have the player with the strongest knowledge of the system.)

And then, there was the element that makes Asylum tricky to run regardless of system -- but which would be exactly the same challenge in Trail as in Call. This is very much a mood -- and moody -- piece. System wouldn't help me there -- but good notes did. With a bit more prep time, I might have made more index cards and done a planned or random long list of weird bits to intersperse with the procedural, but I had done enough to do the mingling reasonably well. One self critique is that I might have added some longer weird bits, not worrying about exactly has they fit or where they led, letting players steer that. But, that might have strained our odds of finishing in two sessions, and we did have at least some of that sort of thing.

Vito's character sheet had, I think, only one change. His mistress was dead, so she was no longer a Source of Stability. However, their daughter now was.

Martin's character sheet had changed a little. Samson Trammel was no longer a Source of Stability. Vito was and Jeremiah still was. Normally, I don't think a character should have other PCs as Sources of Stability, but this was a one shot, and the characters weren't going to be able to get in touch with Sources outside of New Orleans. There'd be, at most, one chance to refresh Stability in that way.

Also, this fit the character. About a third to halfway through Eternal Lies, Martin's player decided that Martin could only have as Sources of Stability people who were aware of the mythos. Jeremiah and Vito both were. Jeremiah was his lover in what the player called a "rescue relationship". Vito had, against all odds, managed to instill a sense of self worth in Martin by telling him, loudly, over and over, that he was worth something. I'm not exactly sure why Vito was the one who managed to pull thus off, but it was clear that he had.

Martin's Drive had changed from Ennui to Closure, which we defined as similar to Revenge, but without the need for violence. But, when the player added the restriction to Martin's Sources of Stability, she realized that if Martin survived, he wouldn't be able to walk away from the mythos. His new Drive was Duty.

Martin had two pillars, Above All, Love and The Myth of Sisiphus. The latter did not shatter or crumble in game, but the player thought it would change. I'm not sure the rules allow for it, but I liked the idea.

Martin found himself no longer quite able to see the universe as ultimately meaningless. Instead, he began to realize, with growing anxiety, that his own actions could affect the world. So, his new Pillar would be I Saved the World Once -- I Can Do It Again. This used to be one of Joyce's Pillars in Eternal Lies until the player decided to crumble it. (Or was that shatter?) I found this passing of the torch both amusing and appropriate. The player noted that it hadn't happened yet, that the old Pillar was gone, but the new had not yet formed.

Jeremiah, of course, did not have a character sheet from Eternal Lies. I told the player to create it as if there were only two PCs, as the other characters had had a campaign's worth of advancement. There was some overlap and some uncovered Investigative skills, but that was fine. Only Vito had serious combat capability.

So, why were folks in New Orleans in the winter of 1939-1940?

Vito had some mob business, and he wanted to see how Amelia was doing, as he had seen her settled in New Orleans. An up and coming young mafioso called Johnny Nero had invited him to a prestigious charity event, the Disabled Veterans Ball, held at the Southern Yacht Club. The cream of New Orleans's upper crust would be there, and it was a black tie formal event.

Martin was in town to pick up a book for the Orne Library of Miskatonic University, as a favor to Joyce. At least, that's what he told himself, refusing to believe that he was becoming a mythos scholar and unable to let that dangerous world go.

Jeremiah was there because Martin was there, and he convinced Martin that they should make a holiday of it. The antiques store could wait, and New Orleans in winter was nicer than New York City in winter.

Jeremiah and Martin had befriended a wealthy young man named Chandler Kreel. He wasn't very bright, and, aware of this, he tried to befriend smart, interesting people. He also found both of his new friends attractive, but probably didn't realize why. He invited them to the charity ball.

I forget how they handled clothes, but I think it was a straightforward Credit Rating Spend.

The charity ball had dancing and fine music, with an occasional guest joining the band on the bandstand to sing or play. At one point Amelia sang "Begin the Beguine".

Vito spotted Martin and Jeremiah and, delighted, joined them.

Vito: Marty! Jerry! (to whoever is serving the drinks) Top shelf for these two!

Vito asked if they were in touch with Joyce or Lillian. Joycecould be hard to find, even if Martin and Jeremiah were living in her place and she had gotten Martin to agree to pick up a book for Miskatonic. And Lillian was in Ethiopia with her husband and their son.

Martin: The baby probably looks less like a bread basket. I understand that happens.

Vito asked where they were staying and invited them to move to his hotel, which I think we decided was Soniat House. Vito called over his aide de camp, Douglas Henslowe, inherited from Joyce. He told Douglas to arrange for a room for Martin and Jeremiah.

Douglas: Yes, Mr. de Genarra.

Vito: Call me Vito.

After all, Douglas was like family, his brother in the fight against the mythos, just like Martin and Jeremiah. Douglas went off to arrange that.

Vito, to Martin and Jeremiah: Didn't I tell you that you would both make it? You will have a beautiful life -- and I cannot wait to see the children you adopt!

Jeremiah's Player: How is New Orleans on homosexuality?

Martin's player: It is the City of Homosexuality!

Apparently, this was quoting an online article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/26/AR2005092601613.html

Vito boasted about Martin's prowess back before and during a certain trip to Tibet.

Vito: Jerry, he did a push up!

Jeremiah's eyebrows went up. After more banter, Vito made a toast.

Vito: To Joyce Summers and Lillian Avery! May they both be safe.

Martin: Despite their best efforts.

Vito: Despite their best efforts.

Some time later:

Vito: Do you still have nightmares?

Martin: Yeah. (puts arm around Jeremiah)

Vito: So do I. (beat) Martin, what the f*ck are we doing here? How did we make it?

Martin: Bad faith and blind luck.

Vito: Yeah.

Martin: That and not listening to Joyce when she said we were dead.

Vito: You heading back up east?

Martin: Eventually. The weather here is better than the weather there. There are two real questions. (looking at Jeremiah) First, how long can the antiques shop remain closed? (looking at Vito) Second, how long can we mooch off of you?

I'm not sure either question was answered. Vito eventually drifted off to play cards in a side room. Johnny Nero introduced him to the other players, including Denis Bouchard, a wealthy man about Vito's age. Denis was no mobster, being from an old, monied New Orleans family, but had no objection to mobsters in general, with or without hooks, and was always willing to play cards and otherwise socialize with them.

Eventually, they drifted back in, and Vito spoke briefly with the hostess, who took Vito's hook for a war wound. Vito corrected her mistake, though he did say that she was right, in a way.

Martin danced with Amanda Cornish, who wasn't interested in flirting or otherwise picking him up. Jeremiah had worse luck, dancing with Ariel, Amanda's younger sister, who was instantly smitten with him.

Some time later, Jeremiah noticed a man approaching the bandstand. Something about that man made him very uneasy. He moved towards Martin.

Vito saw the man as well, and recognized him. This was the Stranger, also known as the Pallid Mask and the Phantom of Truth. Vito, however, knew him as Geoffrey Whitcomb, one of his companions who had walked into Carcosa with him. He and Amelia had been trapped there, Amelia by some combination of the King in Yellow's wrath and her own guilt, Geoffrey by his boredom with the world. Amelia had returned ten years later, due to a combination of Martin's bargain with Hastur, Amelia's desire to save Vito, and Hastur's desire for vengeance and entertainment. Geoffrey, however, a stranger in Carcosa, slowly became the Stranger from the infamous play, his face a mask that was no mask.

Vito started to make his way to Martin and Jeremiah as Jeremiah pointed the Stranger out to Martin, who recognized him. Meanwhile, Vito reached for his gun and saw Denis Bouchard, who had been dancing with Amelia, now moved to interpose himself between her and the Stranger.

Then, a shot rang out. I called for an Athletics roll. Martin's player and Jeremiah's player both got a total of 1 -- but, Jeremiah's Drive was Bad Luck, so he was the one who got grazed by the bullet. There was minor panic in the crowd, and a couple of men were weeping tears of blood.

Vito actually spotted the shooter, if I recall correctly. It was Johnny Nero. Vito reached his friends, and they quickly exchanged information. Vito collected Amelia.

Vito: We're out! (to Amelia) I f*cking dragged you out of Carcosa -- you're not going back!

Vito's Player: Vito's lying to himself. He didn't drag her out. Hastur let her go.

Very true. Vito nodded politely to Denis, pleased that he'd shown the correct prority , i.e., that of protecting Amelia. Jeremiah was bandaged. Everyone agreed that there was no way Jeremiah had actually been Johnny Nero's intended target.

Vito, Amelia, Martin, and Jeremiah reached Vito's car, as Douglas had left it, walking back to make arrangements with the hotel.

Vito: You two in the back seat. Amelia, you're with me. Marty, you got a piece?

Martin: No!

Vito: Here! You've got one now!

GM: And you can't use the excuse that you can't shoot it.

Despite the hook, Vito was still the best driver in the group, and had possibly had some modifications made to the car.

Vito: Would've been nice if Geoff had let us know he was at the party.

Martin: It would have been nice so we could have not gone.

Vito: Just like old times, right, Marty?

Martin: ...Yes?

Vito then turned his mind to another concern.

Vito: Who was Nero shooting at?

Jeremiah: He could have been trying to shoot the Stranger.

Martin: That would have been a good move.

Amelia: No, no, it wouldn't have.

(Amelia knew that raising a hand to the Stranger was like raising a hand to Last King, which got punished.)

Martin: Good intentions, then.

Vito: Okay, I'll give him a pass.

They arrived at the hotel, and a surprised Douglas approached the car. He'd been about to walk back to the Southern Yacht Club. Vito borough him up to date.

Douglas Henslowe: I'm not packing!

Vito: Don't worry. Marty, give him your gun.

Martin did, with relief.

Douglas: You're sure you don't need it?

Martin: Yes! Quite sure!

Vito wondered what business the King in Yellow could possibly have with anyone at the ball.

Amelia: Sometimes, people make bargains with him. You know that, Uncle Vito.

Vito: I gotta find Nero. If he was just trying to whack me over business, that would actually make me feel better.

He saw the others settled, then called to leave a message for Johnny Nero that he'd like to meet the younger man at Lafittes Blacksmith Shop Bar at Bourbon and St Philips, and that he'd be displeased if Nero didn't show up.

Vito waited at the bar while Amelia went home and Martin and Jeremiah went to bed.

GM: You have a somewhat restless nightmare filled cuddily night

Johnny Nero didn't show up. Vito eventually returned to the hotel.

Folks reconvened the next day, wondering who Johnny Nero had been shooting at and what "Geoff", aka the Stranger, wanted.

Vito: I'm almost tempted to ask him, but I'm not ready to have that conversation yet.

Now, the sensible thing to do was, of course, to leave town. But, no one was ready to do that. Vito wanted to know what was going on. Amelia, unable to return to Carcosa, didn't think she was in any danger. Jeremiah wasn't going to leave without Martin, and Martin needed to collect a book from someone who wouldn't be in New Orleans until the next day.

Martin: I run books for Joyce occasionally.

Vito and Amelia laughed, thinking of rum running and the like.

But, there was some vague idea of making contingency plans, in case things got too bad to handle.

Martin: Then, we jump the Mississippi and swim for Algiers. I understand it's where the exiles go.

There was an article in the paper about the disturbance at the ball. Vito decided to look for Johnny Nero, then Denis Bouchard, then possibly listen to what the cops were saying. Martin and Jeremiah decided they'd talk to Chandler Kreel.

Vito met Douglas outside the hotel, and he said that Vito's car was on the wrong side of the a street -- and he hadn't moved it from its spot.

Vito: Okay. Cover me.

As they got into position, Vito and Douglas realized that _all_ the cars were on the opposite side of the street.

Vito: Well, I know I'm not crazy because you're seing it too.

Douglas: Yeah, but Mr. de G -- I mean Vito -- I spent a lot of time at Joy Grove.

Vito: Well, I spent a lot of time getting shat out of a god's ass.

Douglas: Maybe we're both crazy.

Vito clapped him on the shoulder.

They went about their errands. Vito learned that Chief Inspector Roger Harbison was consulting an occult expert, Etinne-Laurent de Marigny, about the odd sigil on the Stranger's brooch. Vito, of course, knew that this was the Yellow Sign.

He then decided to meet Johnny Nero's superior. I'm not sure whether Nero was intended to be the head of the Matranga family in New Orleans or not, but for this run, with this group, we agreed that Johnny Nero didn't feel like he held that position.

That position, we decided, was held by Silver Dollar Sam, the first person in the position of head of Matranga family in New Orleans who was not a blood member of that family. I don't recall who came up with which bits of this background.

Vito went to see Silver Dollar Sam at Antoine's, a restaurant. The two mobsters greeted each other with formality, food, cigars, and wine. Sam assured Vito that Johnny had neither orders nor permission to kill Vito. He wanted to know what Johnny was up to amd , while he didn't want Vito killing Johnny, he didn't mind Vito asking Johnny some questions. He didn't know where Johnny was.

Vito: Does he have a wife and kids?

Sam: No.

Vito: Does he have a girl?

Sam: Two or three.

Vito: Anyone serious?

Sam: No. No boys, either. I checked.

Meanwhile, Chandler Kreel had lunch with Martin and Jeremiah at a restaurant in the Court of Two Sisters. Chandler told them or confirmed that when the Stranger spoke, Red Everett and the Jumps were on the bandstand, as was Alan Leroy, a great friend of his to whom he hoped to introduce them.

Oddly, Jeremiah and Martin got confused about the way out of the restaurant, accidentally opening a broom closet that they thought was the door to the outside. Perhaps it was just that the restaurant was bigger than they'd thought, and they hadn't been there before. Perhaps.

They met up with Vito. Jeremiah told them his theory about Chandler's suspicions that the mob was after Alan Leroy. He asked, I think, not seriously, whether, if, say, the mob were after him, the mob would tell him first or just, ah, whack him.

Vito: If you are to be whacked, we will let you know.

Martin: That's good to know.

Vito (sipping his wine): Service with a smile.

He had, I think, by this time, spoken to Denis Bouchard, letting the man know that he was all right, as far as Vito was concerned, because he'd moved to protect Amelia at the ball.

Denis told him that he'd seen the Yellow Sign before. He had been a patron of a krewe that used it, claiming it was a sign of beauty. He had believed them until his friend, Etienne-Laurent de Marigny, had told him that this wasn't true. He now understood it was an evil sign, a dire omen. He also assured Vito that the krewe that used it no longer existed. The events he recalled had taken place ten years or so ago.

He knew who had been on the bandstand when the Stranger arrived, and I think he knew that the Stranger had addressed Alan Leroy. He knew Alan Leroy was wealthy and had only been in New Orleans for a year or two. He thought Alan was wooing Amanda Cornish, but referred Vito to Alan's friend, Chandler Kreel, for more details.

Meanwhile, Martin was breaking into Johnny Nero's home, going in through a first floor window at the back of the house. Jeremiah kept watch -- until a failed Sense Trouble roll, the dice somehow sensing that his Drive was Bad Luck, meant that Johnny Nero had come up behind him, gun in hand, demanding to know why Jeremiah was spying on him.

Jeremiah managed to convince Johnny not to shoot him and to bring him inside. Martin had done well enough on his Stealth roll that we agreed he had found the perfect spot to watch both of them, making sure Jeremiah knew he was there and Johnny Nero didn't.

Johnny Nero explained that he hadn't been trying to shoot anyone, certainly not Jeremiah, whom he hadn't even met until he caught the man spying on his house. Like Vito, when the Stranger arrived, Johnny went for his gun. But, someone had jostled his arm. The gun had gone off. And, Johnny Nero had found himself face to face with the Stranger.

In that moment, Johnny Nero understood two things. First, he understood that he was neither loved nor respected, merely feared. And if that fear slipped, his fellow mobsters would tear him down. But, he was feared still, right? Jeremiah feared him, didn't he?

Jeremiah assured him that this was true.

The second thing that Johnny Nero understood was that the Masked Stranger was looking for Alan Leroy. Johnny intended to find Alan and hand him over to the Stranger. He warned Jeremiah not to get in his way, and Jeremiah assured Johnny that he had no intention of doing so. Johnny told him to get out, and he didn't wait to be told twice. Martin, relieved, left the way he had come.

Again, everyone got back together. There may have been another surreal change or two.

Vito: The map's changing.

Again, he tried to get Amelia to leave, and again, she refused. She tried to get him to go. He had escaped from Carcosa, after all, and she was in no danger from it.

I forget the first part of what Vito said, but I wrote down the second part.

Vito: Also, what makes you think I ever got out [of Carcosa], sweetie?

Amelia: I'm sorry.

Vito: Hey, Marty, this place is turning into Carcosa.

Martin: Yeah, I know.

Scotch and wine were poured.

Folks brought each other up to date on what they knew. The Stranger was looking for Alan Leroy. Johnny Nero had seen the Stranger, and it messed up his head.

Vito: Yeah, Geoff could do that to you.

And Alan's good friend was Chandler Kreel.

Martin: We need to come up with a good reason for me to be asking Chandler about Alan Leroy. Give me four and a half minutes to think of one. Maybe less. I'm a wizard.

Vito understood that Chandler was attracted to Jeremiah and asked if they'd be meeting him in a bar patronized by homosexuals. (And one of my players confirms that "gay bar" is probably not what it would have been called, at least, not in late 1939-early 1940.)

Martin: I'm not sure he's in a fairy bar. He's in denial.

Jeremiah: Quite a lot. (He and Martin both look smug.) Should I let him flirt with me?

The two of them teased Vito.

Vito: Get me drunk enough, maybe.

Martin: We'll give it a shot.

Vito got a map and started trying to map Carcosa onto New Orleans. In the future, I need to be ready for this and have it be a feedback loop. In other words, the process of doing it should make it happen faster -- or seem to happen faster to the person worrying about it. But, this works better if I have a map of New Orleans and some idea of possible Carcosan geography.

Jeremiah called Chandler, who seemed a bit shaken. He was willing to meet with his friends, though, and he made it very clear that if they were in any trouble at all, they should let him know, and he would help them.

This did not apply to Vito, who Chandler realized was a mobster. The hook probably didn't help. Vito drifted off to buy drinks for everyone, taking his time about it.

Martin's Player: Martin is now following Jeremiah's lead.

Jeremiah / Jeremiah's Player: Oh joy.

Jeremiah made it clear to Chandler that Vito was no threat to him or Martin, and tried to convince Chandler that Vito was likewise no threat to Chandler or Alan, correctly suspecting that Chandler thought that the mob was after his friend.

Chandler was still convinced that the mob was after Alan Leroy, but Jeremiah did charm him into talking about Alan. Alan had come over from somewhere in Europe, according to Chandler, although he had no clear idea of where in Europe Alan had come from. Alan had no living family. Chandler had helped Alan to buy a house in New Orleans.

He confirmed that Alan was engaged to Amanda Cornish. Alan also loved music. He played piano and clarinet. And, while Chandler did not have the self knowledge to realize it, Chandler had a massive crush on Alan.

The next day, folks did research and visited Etienne-Laurent de Marigny. Vito blithely assured Martin that Martin knew far more about the occult than the mythos. The mobster was utterly undaunted when Martin pointed out that Etienne-Laurent was the foremost occultist in the country. After all, Martin was a wizard!

Etienne-Laurent gave Martin the book he'd come to collect. He also confirmed everyone's suspicions and fears. Yes, the police were consulting him. Yes, it did seem that the Stranger was in New Orleans, and yes, indeed, that did put the entire city in danger of being absorbed into Carcosa. He offered his guests stiff drinks and had one himself.

He also described play for Martin's and Jeremiah's benefit. Vito had already read it. I had Jeremiah's player read the summary, then read the cast list and asked folks who their characters identified most with in the play.

Jeremiah identified with Alar, the happy-go-lucky third prince. Vito identified with Keleth, the torturer. Martin thought he identified with Loreon, the cynical minstrel, but his player said that he actually identified with Molle, apprentice and lover to Keleth.

Etienne-Laurent also summarized the Yellow Codex, a much older work. It seemed to indicate that the events described in the play had actually occurred, but in the distant past, and not on Earth. This did not surprise folks, as they knew the play was set on a planet with several moons, somewhere in the Hyades. The horror here was on a more personal and psychological level.

Folks bid the New Orleanian occultist farewell and did research. Alan Leroy had a house on Lakeshore Drive. Vito's eyes went wide when he learned this.

Alan had shown up in New Orleans in the autumn of 1938. He had not arrived with any resources. The house Chandler Kreel had found for him was originally owned by Chandler's father. However, Alan Leroy had later purchased it at a fair price from Mr. Chandler.

Alan had gotten the money to do this and much more besides via various ventures and investments. He seemed to have uncommon luck with these, but there was nothing illegal or apparently supernatural about these.

But there was still no record of Alan Leroy before his arrival in New Orleans. Folks wondered if he had somehow come from Carcosa, but surely, that wasn't possible. Was it?

GM: Why, it's not as if, oh, someone opened a gate from Carcosa to, say, Valletta, Malta.

Martin (realization dawning) (to himself): Oh sh*t. _That_ gate in Carcosa.

Of course, that was some months before Alan had arrived in New Orleans. If he were from Carcosa, perhaps he arrived when Amelia did. Martin hoped this was the case.

Martin: Largely so I can abdicate responsibility.

Vito: You didn't close the gate? Did you at least try to close the gate?

Martin: ...

Just how he would have done this from the non-Carcosa side of the gate is a fascinating question. And Martin had had no intention of sacrificing himself by remaining in Carcosa to close the gate from that end. And, in any case, his mind had been on two things. One of these was getting out of Carcosa before he was trapped there. The other was getting his boyfriend back in a hale and hearty flesh and blood body.

Vito: So, you know what? Geoff was just doing his job. (pause) We have a moral dilemma here. Do we give him to Geoff or do we help him out?

And there, in a nutshell, was the problem.

Vito: You know what's kind of funny? Us pushing people through gates.

Martin: Yeah, I was hoping not to do that again.

By now, Vito had taken to referring to Hastur / The King in Yellow as "Yellow Belly".

Martin went to Alan Leroy's house and spoke to Alan's manservant.

Martin: A masked gentleman confronted him at a party a couple of days ago, and I wanted to talk to him about it. Tell him I might be able to help him out if he has.

He left his phone number at the hotel and a post office box address. Asking around, folks learned that Alan's servants liked him. He hadn't been home in a few days, but that wasn't unusual. After all, Alan Leroy was a wealthy, talented young man in New Orleans.

By now, each of the players had voluntarily docked themselves a point of Stability.

WHAT WERE THE REASONS? I THINK IT WAS A DIFFERENT REASON FOR EACH PERSON.

After the session, I looked up the Stability loss chart and figured that

a. technically, the loss should probably have been three points, but b. folks were all following their Drives, rather than fleeing town like sensible people, so they'd have gotten two of those points Bach for a net loss of one point. We were good.

In addition, while Jeremiah had been easily patched up, Vito's player decided at one point that he was docking Vito a point of health, saying that Vito had crushed a glass in his hand.

HEY, ANYONE REMEMBER WHEN AND WHY VITO DID THAT?

Meanwhile, the person folks thought they needed to talk to next was Amanda Cornish, Alan aleroy's girlfriend. Her sister, Ariel, had been quite taken with Jeremiah, so there was a ready made excuse for a visit.

Jeremiah (face palm): So, I may have to flirt with someone else again.

Jeremiah's player kept getting Ariel Cornish's name wrong. The player decided that it was actually totally in character that Jeremiah wouldn't remember the name.

Here was the timeline I figured we had at this point:

Day 0: Charity Ball Day 1: Chandler, SS, Denis, Johnny's house, Chandler. 1st newspaper article Day 2: Etienne, AL's house, research Day 3: 2nd newspaper article

The second article reported that owners of various voodoo shops in the area of Rampart Street reported having been visited by the mysterious Masked Stranger from the ball. The man had not stolen anything, but no one could remember the conversation he'd had with them.

Between sessions, Jeremiah's player emailed me.

I just remembered I should let you know -- after being a brain in a jar, Jeremiah came away with a severe phobia of sensory deprivation. Mostly this manifests in him indulging his physical senses and avoiding losing any of them (eg: he sleeps with a candle or small light on), BUT it is also a huge angst button if you would like to push it. (And I am always down for angst.)