Session 5 of #theHulls
Notes
The crew seemed to get in their groove a bit more here. This score was a more straightforward burglary, in their hunting ground, so that might have helped. No factions to tip toe around, no grand plans to fret about.
The info gathering was much smoother and cleaner. Good rolls helped, but also I think I pulled back on how many obstacles the crew had to face to actually get to the info roll. That is part of what made the Red Lamp info gathering session so difficult.
I think I set the danger clock with too many segments; if I set it again I’d probably have gone with 4-segments instead of 6. In part, I set it high because I wasn’t sure how the engagement roll might have screwed up the clock. We haven’t finished the score yet so it may still cause problems.
I also think I failed to establish the patrol danger clock properly in the fiction, which I think took away some sense of its urgency.
A tricky bit was coming up with complications that didn’t reflect poorly on the Lurk’s burglary skills but more on happenstance and bad luck. I had to correct myself a few times before I got the tone right.
I’m also not sure about how well I set the position of the rolls. Most of the initial rolls were dominant, but on reflection I may have not emphasised the danger of the patrol enough, either from noticing the break-in or at least the time pressure of the patrol passing by.
Still, Rat ended this session with eight stress, one shy of trauma, from starting with 2, pushing himself once on entering Hagtrees and then taking 4 stress from avoiding level 1 harm: strain. So there’s pressure enough on the players for what is a pretty small job.
Gameplay
After considering a few options, the players decide they need coin to splash out on Rat’s (the Lurk) long term project to shore up Dust’s (the Slide) fake identity as a Customs Officer. The unquietness of Ashlynn Daava, the war in Crow’s foot, the bigger play against the losers of that war, all got ignored for the simplicity and directness of getting more cash.
For fortune rolled in their favour. A good opportunity for a spot of burglary has appeared in “the Drop” their hunting ground. A Fight Club is setting up tonight and only tonight in Painter’s Court, which has a fair view toward Brightstone in the North. The Fight Club moves around the city, all fights are to the death so disliked by Bluecoats, Spirit Wardens and the like. By the same token, the brutality attracts many, and the betting flows like butter all night.
Which brings us to the score: the Fight Club tries to run a tidy, quiet operation, relatively speaking. Once the fights are over, the money is usually sat in nearby shop or warehouse overnight, then moved during day trade under the cloak of the legitimate business. The crew plan to infiltrate the safe house overnight before the cash is moved. However, there are several artisan supplies and collectibles stores around Painter’s court that could be the safe house. So the crew go gather info to establish necessary the entry point detail for the plan.
During the day, Dust goes shop-to-shop in disguise as a foppish merchant, stirring up the shop attendants and keeping for unusual activity. These goes well (a five), but takes most of the day. This set up move help Talon (the Hound) to track any unusual characters that Dust points out with his Spite, his mind linked fine flying serpent hunting pet that he has a mind link with. This gives them good info about the safe house, though Talon takes a Devil’s Bargain that someone in the Fight Club crew is someone he knows from his past.
The entry point is Hagtrees, named after a desiccated ancient wood that looms over the entrance of this mirror, glass and crystal shop. It has barricaded shopfront, which is no doubt why it was picked, in large part to protect the valuable breakables inside from errant rocks or vagrants. Dust noted a large, obvious wall-mounted safe at the end of the shop.
Three clocks
o Entry into Hagtrees: 4-segments
o Painters Court patrol notices break-in: 6-segments
o Get your hands on the loot: 6-segments
The engagement roll is excellent, so there’s no surprises at the start of the score.
The crew saw the fights, Talon on nearby rooftops, Dust as a beggar in a dirty alley, and Rat mixing with the crowd. They easily follow the money through the various switches and subterfuge, and confirm it’s locked up in Hagtrees.
Hiding with his shadow cloak, in the dead limbs of the hagtree, Rat waits till the Painters Court clears out and calms to a whisper. Using Talon’s rooftop perch and Dust’s slovenly corner to time his entry best against the patrol, Rat cracks the hinges of the narrow venting window above the shop door. 2 ticks down on entering Hagtrees.
Unfortunately a new guard stepped out from a doorway, stretching and yawning after obviously having a nap, directly opposite Hagtrees, putting Rat into a more difficult position. In danger of spotting the Lurk carrying a windowpane or just the missing window, Dust used his beggar disguise to sway the guard into sharing a drink, laced with trance powder, which knocked the guard out and left Dust a slight confusion. Improved position for Rat and 1 harm on Dust.
Rat athletically manoeuvres himself through the long window, sliding the window pane after him since there was nowhere to leave it on the tree. Rat gets stressed out though, (4 stress, bringing him to 8) from the strain of dodging all the crystal and glass, keeping quiet, and carrying the cumbersome pane. But that’s the last two ticks for the Hagtree clock, so they’re in.
Rat moves straight to the wall safe, passing the mirrors covering the left wall and the crystal and glasses shelved on the right. But the big, obvious wall safe is fake, a chunk of welded metal. Not wanting to burn too much time searching by himself, he signals Talon. In swoops Spite, Talon’s mind-linked flying serpent. Leading a survey of the room, Spite and Talon quickly uncover a trapdoor under the Iruvian carpet. Rolling it back, Rat reveals a shining safe with a clip goblin triple wheel lock. Crack goes his knuckles. 2 ticks down on getting hands on the loot.
