Monster of the Week Coming to a Close

I'll kick it off of course with the first session.

>I have two players, we'll refer to them as ARJ and ROC.
>They're a Spell Slinger and a Wronged, respectively.
>Wanting to test the game, came up with something simple for all of us. "Monsters here, kill them."
>Not the monster they thought of course.

They went in thinking it was a brain scrambler, basically a monster that controls people with psychic powers and then scrambles their brains.

>One contact for this, Sheriff John McCoy, former Hunter who went out of the game after having aforementioned brains scrambled.
>McCoy is a bit rusty.
>They meet at a diner to chat after visiting a hotel and booking rooms quickly.

>McCoy knows the address and gladly heads off, forgetting to pay because he's not quite all there.
>ARJ pays, while ROC casually walks into their car. ARJ gets in, and I get an idea.

"You hear a particular squelching noise."

>>48745937
What system are you running it in?

File: Squelcher.png (11KB, 538x285px) Image search: [Google]

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>>48746029
Powered by the Apocalypse.

>ARJ is confused, so is ROC.
>Slime all over the chair, and it changes color everytime they look away / blink.
>What is it you ask?

I came up with a creature called a Squelcher. It eats light, converts it to high pressure paintballs filled with scentless excrement and it always changes color once you look away. Everyone sees colors different.

>Pic related, it's the Squelcher, it became a mascot of sorts.

>Players head to the location, and abandoned warehouse.
>McCoy is parked out front, but doesn't seem to be at his car.

>Goodie, he's inside.
>Players go to follow.

Cont.

Inside is a dark warehouse, and from the front entrance they see someone shuffling to their feet.

>Brain scrambler?!
>ARJ draws their foci (a revolver) and aims it at the figure, demanding they come out.
>It's a homeless guy who was chilling here.

"Woah, don't shoot- f-fuck, man!"

>Explains his story.
>He was living here for free when some dude hit him from behind with a gun or something.
>He's lucky he didn't get killed when he passed out.

>Obviously McCoy thought he was a Zombie under control.

>Players patch the guys up using some supplies in the car.
>He thanks them and gives them about 14 dollars in bills and change for both of them.
>ROC takes all of it from the guy's hands and pockets it right away.
>ARJ is blown away at their eagerness to take a homeless man's money, insists the guy keeps it.
>He just stumbles away insisting, rubbing his head.

>Players head inside and see a staircase leading up, and plenty of holes in the walls. About the size of a person.

>What could it be?

Cont.

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McCoy probably went upstairs, because they hear some shuffling.

>ARJ insists on preparing a fire blast and looks at the ceiling while ROC checks around.
>ROC finds nothing, ARJ sees there are sort of pin marks on the ceiling, like someone tried using a fork to climb walls.
>Suspicious.

>They head upstairs and see a few rooms.
>More shuffling, but no one knows where.
>They go into a nearby room and hear shuffling above them.

>ARJ shoots the ceiling right above them.

It is at this point that the creature fell through the ceiling wounded and enraged, directly onto ARJ.

Pic related, it's the creature. I called it a Grue, but clearly it's not exactly like you'd expect.

Combat begins.

Cont.

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>Grue starts by stabbing at ARJ, deals about 3 damage not including 1 armor from an enchanted coat.
>ARJ shoots the thing and it falls back, leaving ARJ getting up from the floor.
>ROC fires their shotgun at the thing, as they were still in the room and this thing was now in the doorway.
>The doorway that ARJ was getting up in.

>ARJ spent a Luck to avoid being blown directly into the creature and probably killed.
>Grue dies, and they continue though.

>But nobody expected a second Grue.

>It crawled through the ceiling during the gunfire and leaped at the players.
>ROC almost gets clipped, but shoot the thing straight in the face.
>ARJ is quick to back up with some fire.

>Grue dies before it even has a chance.

>They hear some more shuffling inside of the building in a further down room.

>Guns ready, they kick in the door!

It's McCoy, worse for wear but still pretty fine.

>ARJ asks what he's doing there.

"I went in here, and I attacked a scrambler zombie, but then those damn Grues started attacking me! I hid for my life first chance I got."

>Everyone patches themselves up, and McCoy feels like shit for not being much help.
>Hey, he's been brain scrambled he gets a free pass.

At the diner he explains the sensation:

"Do you see these eggs?"
"Yeah?"
McCoy starts mashing his fork in his eggs.
"And that's what being brain scrambled is like."

>Conclude the first session, and the players rather enjoyed it.

I continued and two more players and some NPCs were introduced. I've got more stories if anyone is interested.

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It is at this point our third player was introduced. They will be dubbed as AKS, and they decided to be a professional.

Wearing a Military tact. Vest, and carrying with them an Assault Rifle and Shotgun, (at the same time) for their weapons (3-Harm so it was a lot of damage), with a Big Knife for back up.

They went to a place in Iowa called Agency (ha!) to investigate a murder of a couple who went to fool around in a farm house while the farmer and his son went hunting, with proof to back them up.

Anyone wanna provide some bumps while I type these out?

Obviously with ARJ being a heavily Magic player, and having a romantic interest both in and out of character with ROC's player, AKS declared they were in a "cool off" with ARJ.

Professionals have 2 Cool for their rating regardless, and has easily more cool than ARJ but pay attention to what happens near the end.

>ARJ and ROC go to the farm house while AKS sneaks into the Barn to check the crime scene.

>Farmer is clearly peeved and doesn't want to speak to the Detective already there.
>Introducing Dt. Derick Lion, GMNPC that joins the party for the investigation.

>Derick is introduced getting in a fist fight as the Farmer, Maxwell Whetherly Sr. who obviously starts it after being accused of murder for the 10th time that day, almost.

>ARJ breaks up the fight while ROC sneaks off to the barn too.
>They both try to find out what happened.

>The farm is pretty bland, it's a corn field so they obviously find farming equipment.

>Disturbingly clean farm equipment.

>Crime scene is in the middle of the barn, victims were torn to shreds by bladed instruments.
>The Farmer and his boy were out hunting with two verified witnesses, and photographic evidence.
>And a dead animal, because obviously it proves their innocence.
>Derick isn't buying that BS.

>Regardless, Allen checks, himself, and finds that a magical presence was here and is influencing the location.
>Symbol on the ground is a clock face of sorts, and about 6 to 10 lines going from the clock out into the fields.
>Gee, what could be in the Corn Fields?

They don't know.

>Decide to check some rumors about places around, and hear that something similar happened at the Boyle Residence a few years ago.
>Boyle had 5 dead bodies in his fields from hatchet wounds, but swears he didn't do it.
>Was arrested clearly, because evidence was incredibly compelling.

>Party decides to check it out, and Derick says he'll be tagging along in a bit.

>They take the car that ROC drives.

ARJ gets on the roof, refusing to get inside. AKS gets in instead. Sits directly on Squelcher pellets and ruins their uniform.

Heh, they said they were gonna kill that thing if they ever got a chance. (Someone losing their cool?)

Cont.

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Shit, ARJ is named Allen Rickman Johnston by the way. IC they never heard of the actor despite being a Magic person who comes from an establishment that teaches combat magic.

Pic maybe related.

>Players get the to Boyle place, and are greeted by a wooden Indian that's partially rotted on the porch.
>Hi Squanto.
>Wooden Indian gives off a weird feeling as they get near it, but continue inside.

>House is really old, and hasn't had a resident since Boyle was arrested some time ago.
>Cursed or something.

>They use some lights to search around and see if there's anything important. ARJ finds some similarly weird symbols of a different color.
>Similar time on the clock though, late at night for some reason.

>It clicks to ARJ.

>Group learns that the clock activated a vessel and animated it according to the caster's wishes.

>Killing intruders for example.
>Intruders who want to fuck in your barn.

They rendezvous with Derick and chat about going back later this evening, around the time it is supposed to animate something at the Boyle residence.

Derick doesn't know abut Magic so they keep that second part a secret.

Cont.

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ARJ doesn't give a fuck about keeping magic a secret, they reveal. And they try chatting to Derick about magic shortly before the time strikes.

>Derick is laughing it off, thinks they're joking at first and it eventually turns to worry as the other two start agreeing.

>Then the statue starts moving, Hatchet in hand.

>ARJ to the rescue with good old fashioned FIRE!
>Decaying wood and high velocity fire blasts results in a campfire instead of a fight.
>Derick goes silent, and has an anxiety attack realizing how fucking insane he probably is.
>They comfort him, sort of, and tell him to head back home.

"Okay... Uh, ... Fuck, okay." Derick goes home.

>AKS calls a strike team to Wetherly's to ensure they're not going to be overwhelmed.
>Spoiler, the Strike team doesn't get a warm welcome by the Farmer who hates trespassers with a 12 Gauge.

They arrive and find the Farmer and his boy ziptied in the barn with a severely wounded agent being patched up to save his life, and another yelling at someone not responding on the radio.

>Apparently the fourth one entered through the fields.
>Went silent a couple minutes after the spell went in effect, by fair estimate.

>Players try hiding in the barn while ARJ tries dispelling the magic.
>Their job is as simple as holding the fort until then.

Surprisingly, they did rather well.

Players stay towards the middle of the farm and start mowing down the scarecrows using heavy automatic fire from AKS, because wood and wheat can't stop bullets.

>Obviously mows them down as much as possible, they're immobile.

Fuck. That was supposed to be difficult.

>ARJ dispelled the magic and there was a light at the side of the farm.
>Scarecrows were gonna burn down the barn with them inside, kill any who tried fleeing.

>No magic, the scarecrows remaining collapse and all is normal.
>Agents go to arrest Wetherly for his deeds, and then a truck pulls up in the drive.
>Tonight was poker night with Maxwell and his two buddies from the hunting trip.

"Wha'chu guys doin' wit' Max?"

>AKS insists on being the voice of reason, and steps forward.
>"Agency business."
>One of the guys has a rifle in his hands, considering that the Agency isn't exactly well known. He thought it was some government thing.
>Bring up the gun casually in his hands and AKS tells him to put the weapon away.

AKS is named Arkady Sidorovich. They're from eastern Europe obviously, and speaks in a Slavic / Russian accent.

>Called a communist by farmer.
>AKS aims their semi-automatic assault rifle at the farmer with the intent to kill.
>In front of their co-workers and friends.
>Farmer and AKS have a stand off with ARJ asking the farmer to put their gun down, while getting in front of AKS.

Farmer complies and the two leave their friend to be abducted by a mysterious Agency of unknown origin. Primarily because they didn't want the Psycho Communist gunning them down.

>Session ends, AKS swears they're winning the cool off.

>ARJ is completely disagreeing considering they nearly gunned down a civilian over name calling.

Cont.

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Group returns to their motel and see that their weird neighbor has supposedly left. He chatted with ARJ about some things and revealed he knew magic, too.

ARJ said he was a hunter and got thrown out, and mysterious man is mysterious.

>Knock at Motel door.
>Derick.
>Says he wants to become whatever the hell they are, after what he saw.
>Greater good, yadda yadda, he's essentially a Lawful Good Mundane and former Police Officer.
>Goes on leave to do this instead, because he makes fantastic decisions with life.

Regardless, AKS calls their Agency to check in and see what the next job might be.

Introducing the next NPC, David Bowie Alexis, a magic using hunter in retirement after 15 years of work.

Pic maybe related.

Apparently a terrible ring of stench has appeared in a distant hiking town.

No one knows it, but only Magic Users can smell it. Everyone has 0 or -1 Weird except for ARJ who has a whopping 2.

Yay.

The group leave with Derick in tow, now a Wronged, Professional, and Spell Slinger with their DMNPC Mundane!

I have some more, but I might post them tomorrow. If anyone wants to talk about Powered by the Apocalypse, I'll be hanging around.

I can also chat about the story if anyone is curious, just don't want to detail sessions right now since I'm gonna be working out for a bit, but I'll be around, rest assured.

Anyone else have stories from the system or even Monster of the Week specifically, I'd love to read some!

Dungeon / Apocalypse World is welcomes also, I don't judge.

>>48745937