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Wolfgang70

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  1. Re: Horry County Hudson City - Campaign Log The villain in question, the elusive "Jack", is a sociopath I based on a villain in the Hudson City sourcebook, but I have modified him so heavily that you may only recognize his gimmick. Wolfgang
  2. Re: Horry County Hudson City - Campaign Log Session 9 - "An Electrifying Performance" (9/14/08) When James gets out of the hospital, he and Johnny, along with Hampton and Rob, decide to step up their patrols in LeMastre Park. This "Jack" guy has gone out of control. He's now killed at least two people by electrocution, which may lead people to suspect that Johnny's alter-ego Ampere is behind the killings. Now Jack had called in to True Justice and has Harvey almost cheering him on as the potential solution to Hudson City's crime problem. Harvey has been treating Jack like a hero. Since they have not yet figured out a way to get into the child-sex club run by Calvin Johnson to free the poor children there; and have no solid leads on the so-called "Alphabet Killer" who has, to this point, killed his or her victims in alphabetical order by first name (or is this a coincidence?) and by alternating genders, leaving obscure numbers carved into the victims; stopping Jack moves to the top of their priorities. Also, Johnny has not yet figured out a way to find Candy/Samantha in Ernest Cole's porn film network before she can become a victim of one of his snuff films, if she hasn't already. Hampton, whose daughter Cassie has been diagnosed with diabetes, joins Johnny and Rob in the park. James tells them that he will meet them there a little later. After seeing some inattentive police officers "watching" the park, they enter. With Johnny looking like a common street thug, hoping to attract the attention of Jack as a potential victim, Hampton and Rob trail Johnny in the shadows, watching for Jack, or anything else out of the ordinary. Johnny finally meets a drug dealer and starts to talk "business" but the dealer gets a call on his cell and warns Johnny to get out of the park. It seems that someone has called a local television station (Channel 7) and offered one of their reporters, Kim Conners, an interview with a real-life vigilante superhero. Channel 7 is apparently sending live crews to LeMastre Park, where the interview is supposed to take place at the end of the nightly news broadcast. News helicopters are now headed to the park, along with police, reporters, and throngs of people hoping to catch a glimpse of Ampere, Jack, the Man In Black, or one of these other costumed crime fighters. The dealer clears out quickly, and soon enough, the park begins to get crowded with people looking for the news crews and superheroes. James finally shows up and the four of them spread out to different sections of the park, with Johnny taking the area closest to the zoo, where the interview is supposed to take place. When he arrives, the crowd is already fairly large, with lots of police taking up crowd control duties, along with news crews and ordinary spectators. Johnny starts thinking that Jack is setting things up for a large body count in LeMastre Park tonight, so he is watching the crowd closely. He takes the role of "annoying overly inquisitive guy" and talks to police officers on the scene. Before long, the "fanboys" start arriving, many of them in costume. Johnny counts at least a half-dozen Clark Kents, 4 or 5 guys dressed like Superman, at least 3 dressed as Spider-Man, with another guy that looks vaguely familiar dressed as black suit Spider-Man, and a half-dozen Batman costumes... even 4 guys dressed as The Flash, along with superheroes he's not familiar with, Star Wars characters, and even a few movie villains, like the Joker... there must be 8 guys dressed like him. "Oh great," thinks Johnny, "This is looking like a publicity stunt for next year's HudsonCon." About that time, a truck from Killer Pizza From Mars drives up to the edge of the park and sets up a mobile pizza kitchen, making a killing selling pizza slices to the gathering crowd. Making conversation, Johnny finds that public opinion is still on the side of the "superheroes," even Jack. At the appointed hour, the studio cuts live to Kim Conners, at the streetside entrance to the zoo, where she has set up two director's chairs for her big superhero interview... Nothing happens. No superheroes appear. But the station gets a phone call... Johnny, who can't hear what the pretty blonde reporter is saying from where he is, calls Rob, who then calls his niece, Kate. Kate is at home with the television on Channel 7. She tells Rob that this guy, calling himself Jack, has called in to the station and is giving a diatribe on what is wrong with the city and how he's going to fix it with his "zero tolerance policy" on crime. She tells Rob that the guy rambles on for about 3 minutes, with an annoying intermittent clicking sound in the background, then abtruptly tells the reporters that he has to hang up, as he has a performance to give. He tells them to be ready for an invitation to his "electrifying" production. Johnny, Rob, and James begin sweeping the park, heading in the general direction of the river, with Hampton hanging back, unable to make up his mind if he should go home to his family, or stay with these guys, but nervous that they might get in over their heads without him. He decides to stay at the periphery of the park, ready to offer support if needed. James, Johnny, and Rob see lights illuminating the area near the riverfront. As James approaches the band shell at the edge of the Stewart River, he sees Jack's latest performance, a body tied to the edge of the stage, electrocuted. The stage lights are all turned on, as if this body is someone's opus, displayed to an adoring audience. James examines the body, then finds an open trap door on the stage and climbs down into the darkness, just as police and reporters begin arriving at the scene. He closes the door behind him, finding himself in a dark storage space under the stage. Down on the bare concrete floor, he finds the place where the victim was electrocuted, along with a blackened handprint on a wooden support beam. The handprint does not smell like burning flesh, or at least no more than the entire room smells of it, so it must've been made with a glove of some kind. James discovers a grate in the floor over a storm drain just as someone on stage discovers the trap door and lowers the grate back into place over his head just in time. Climbing down the ladder, he waits in the storm drain tunnel for the police above to complete their investigation. Meanwhile, Johnny, using his parabolic microphone, hears police try the back door of the storage area under the stage and find it padlocked. James calls and tells Johnny and Rob that he is in a storm drain under the band shell. Johnny strips down and climbs into the river, holding his sensitive electronics over his head, and noticing that the water has a peculiar effect on the latent energy in his body. Johnny finds the entrance to the storm drain just above the water level and notices that it is unlocked. He climbs in and joins James inside the tunnel. Exploring, Johnny and James find that the tunnel connects to a network of other storm drain tunnels under the southern end of the park. Apparently, a good portion of the north side of Hudson City's storm drains lead right here, under LeMastre Park, and then to the river. Rob finds an entrance near a pumping station, and joins the others in the tunnels. Hampton decides to join his family at home rather than entering the tunnels. Inside the tunnels, the trio find that they aren't the only ones to have explored here. They also find entrances to the tunnels near the playground where Jack's first victim was found, in the bushes near where Johnny found the abandoned sign and the scrap of cloth from a gang member's bandana, and near the fountain where Jack's second victim was found. Jack has been using these tunnels to appear and disappear throughout the park and escape from the scenes of his crimes. On the ladder leading to one particular entrance, they find a sign that reads, "Watts up, Harv?" Johnny, James and Rob leave the tunnels and return to their homes. The next day, Johnny gets a call from Jill, who decided to take him up on his offer to get clean from the drugs and leave her current pimp to come work for Johnny. He gives her his address and tells her to come to his place. Then, he calls a local business that specializes in cleaning victims of the sex industry, sexual abuse and human slavery, who give him a number and address to bring Jill. He goes to sleep, knowing that when Jill arrives, her call to get him to open the door will wake him. The next morning, Johnny awakes later than he expected and realizes that Jill never came to his apartment. He opens the door to find a shattered white plastic orb in front of the door. Knocking on the apartment door of the "working girls" next door, he asks what the pieces of shattered plastic mean. They gasp and back away from him as if he's suddenly become contagious and sprouted extra appendages. Its a sign, they tell him... a broken pearl. Johnny should have known that, having been on the streets for so long, but his worry about Jill clouded his mind. Now he knows what it means. They discovered that Jill was going to leave and "broke" her. He must find her, if she's still alive. Johnny calls Rob and James and they set up a plan for James to scout out the pool hall where Jill's pimp, Teddie J., holds court. Johnny knows that Teddie works for Carl Spears, the same guy who bought the Paradise Theater where Lorraine and Nona work. Rob then calls Hampton and tells him that Johnny has threatened to spill a lot of blood to get Jill back, and even more if anything bad has happened to her. Hampton sets up a counter plan to get Teddie out of the pool hall for interrogation before Johnny arrives. When True Justice comes on the air that afternoon, Harvey reads an email from someone who has a great deal of information on a local smut peddler and illegal porn film producer. He is setting up a challenge for Ampere, Jack, and any other superheroes to be the first to "take out" the criminal. The email Harvey reads says that there will be other criminals brought to justice this way, each one a challenge to see which vigilante can get to him first. Harvey treats it like a hot new game show that he is hosting. James arrives at the pool hall before Teddie J. and scouts the place out. After Teddie J. arrives, Rob, as the Man In Black, sneaks into Teddie's Escalade and hides. Johnny is waiting at their appointed meeting place a half-block away, wondering where everyone is, when he spots the Man In Black entering the escalade. He heads to the pool hall, not knowing that James has started a fire in the men's room, which is now forcing everyone to evacuate the building. As he approaches, James hits the sidewalk, along with Teddie J., his thugs, the staff of the pool hall, and the patrons, as smoke billows from the open doors. Just as Johnny approaches Teddie with his hand on his gun, hidden in his pocket, a jogger runs by and grabs Teddie J., holding a knife to his throat and backing him toward the Escalade. As the standoff escalates, the Man In Black bursts out of the windshield of the Escalade in a shower of glass and puff of smoke. Gunfire erupts. James tackles one of Teddie's thugs, Hampton flees the scene, pretending to be terrified at the appearance of the Man In Black. Johnny heads toward Jill's hotel room, leaving Teddie J. at the mercy of the huge Man In Black, who loads him into the Escalade and drives away. Back at Jill's place, Johnny finds her brutally raped and severely beaten, a "broken pearl" but still alive. He rushes her to the establishment he called the previous night, where she can get medical care. Her biggest worry is that they cut her drug supply off and she needs a fix. Meanwhile, Rob, as the Man In Black, takes a now unconscious Teddie J. back to Aaron's club, Close Encounters, and hides him in the basement temporarily until he can come up with a better plan.
  3. Re: Horry County Hudson City - Campaign Log Session 8 - "Gods and Kings" (9/7/08) Johnny is glad finally have something solid to go on. He finally had a face to focus his efforts on, and a name, well... sort of. While Johnny and Lorraine were taking turns worshipping the porcelain god, after watching some pretty horrible stuff on dvd, Lorraine's friend Charlotte had popped in another dvd and absent-mindedly hit the play button. It was best to approach this search like a science experiment. Maintain psychological distance. Dissociate what you were seeing completely from anything real. Suddenly, it all came flowing back for Charlotte as she recognized that face. "Guys! I hate to interrupt, but guys, I think I know this girl. I think I danced with her." Those words had started Johnny on his current course. His visited to the Emporium had netted him a few more videos, legal this time, starring Candy, or, as she was billed in several of them, Samantha. A former co-worker he had tracked down told Johnny that she had left to work in films for Ernest Cole. Searching for her was proving difficult. When they meet for lunch, Johnny gives Tommy a print of the screenshot to aid him in searching for her. Tommy, even with his weaknesses, was proving to be a valuable asset on the streets of North Elmvies. Tommy gave him some leads to help him find Jill. Johnny still feels like he owes her. After all, it was Johnny who basically put her on the streets in the first place, but that was in another time, in another life. James call Johnny and asks him to meet him at the shelter just outside of Boxtown where his father volunteered. He is looking for information about his father and the man they called "Wild Bill." Johnny calls Hampton and invites him to meet them, then heads out the door. At the shelter, James arrives first in his mom's mini-van. James likes using the van. It may look like a Blue-hair-mobile, but James thinks it still smells like his dad. He drove it way more than mom ever did anyway. As he gets out, he notices the line of unwashed bodies jockeying for position in front of the place. The shelter is a large old brick structure, painted a horrid shade of orange on one side. There was a church van parked closest to the street alongside the shelter. Evidently Our Lady of Mercy was doing some serving tonight and had brought volunteers way down here to the edge of Boxtown to help the less fortunate. Across the street, music blared from a group of young guys gathered on some steps. James wonders how the entire block hasn't been condemned. The tenements look on the verge of collapse. Some of the bombed out structures in Bosnia and Baghdad had looked more structurally sound than than these places. James and Johnny meet and head inside. Johnny shows up prepared to bribe potential informants with scotch, but the off-duty cop in the lobby hears the clinking and makes Johnny stow his purchases behind the desk with the other contraband. He even has a plastic bin that he tags with the name Johnny gives him. Johnny heads inside, where he and James start talking to people. James finds an aura of respect for the man his father was. The off-duty cop at the door had done military service and spoke of James Hardwick, Sr., the Colonel, in a tone usually reserved for gods and kings. Hampton arrives a few minutes later and arouses a fair amount of suspicion. Inside, nobody has seen "Wild Bill" for at least a month, but a few people seem to know him, so Johnny grabs his packages and follows some "new friends" out onto the sidewalk to dole out rewards. After being confronted by a man whose paranoia would make ANY conspiracy theorist proud, Hampton finds out that the name "Nelson" was embroidered on a patch on Wild Bill's jacket. Soon after, as dinner is winding down and many people are starting to leave, the shooting starts. A green Cadillac that rolled off a Detroit assembly line sometime in the late 70's rolls down the street and a dark tinted window slides down, exposing a gun barrel. Hampton, who is on his way across the street with James to talk to the gangbangers over there, sees the scene unfolding in slow motion and pushes James to the pavement, vaulting over the trunk of the Caddy and executing a flying tackle on one of the guys near the steps. As they go down into the overflowing trash cans, automatic weapons can be heard unloading their deadly messengers on the guys who had gathered across the street from the shelter. They draw their weapons and return fire at the Caddy, with stray shots pinging off the church van and the shelter. Glass shatters as Johnny herds the homeless people and volunteers back into the building, trying to keep everyone calm. The off-duty cop, who was watching Hampton cross the street, takes cover behind a wheel of the van and returns fire, hoping to cut down the number of people who could inadvertantly kill the innocent people on his side of the street. Those gangbangers would be too concentrated on the Caddy to realize that someone on foot was also shooting. James jumps up and yanks open the door of the Caddy, only to get a gun jammed into his stomach. He feels the sting as the bullet enters his mid-section. Unarmed, he punches the driver and falls to the street, clutching his wounded gut. The old pick-up truck that pulls up to the Caddy is loaded with gun-toting gangbangers, who add to the gunfire and overall confusion. When the Caddy, pulls away with several windows shattered and blood-spattered, with the truck in pursuit, Hampton rushes over to James and finds him still alive, but in need of medical attention. As the sirens approach, there are several homeless people wounded, along with a severely wounded volunteer, and James. The gangbanger that Hampton tackled walks across the street and gives Hampton a bandana for saving his life. Ham has earned his colors. Interesting, since his vigilante patrol a few blocks away a few weeks ago that resulted in the death of a gang member that Hampton had left zip-tied on the sidewalk when he went to take care of the girl he had been trying to abduct, had led to the current gang war between the Outlaws and the 66 Blades. Members of another gang had found the guy and executed him, stealing his cash, drugs, knife, and even his grill. Now the two gangs were at war and it had boiled over on this summer night outside the homeless shelter in a grimy southside neighborhood adjacent to the largest concentration of transients in the city, Boxtown. Johnny escapes the scene of the shoot-out into Boxtown and begins showing the picture of Wild Bill that James had given him. The few people who knew where Bill had been squatting pointed Johnny in the direction of the interstate overpass, where some of the most valuable real estate is located. As Johnny approaches, he sees a cardboard "estate" in the shadows of the overpass with a decent "yard." With the crowded nature of the area an all sides, this seems odd to Johnny, and he approaches the makeshift shanty and arouses the woman who calls this place home. Crazy Mary knew Wild Bill alright. He even gave her his "safe," a box of belongings, swollen and covered in filth. Crazy Mary has earned her name though, and she leaves the hovel as if Johnny is the resident and she is just a visitor, telling him to give Bill the box if he comes back. Inside the box, Johnny finds a plastic Ziplock bag containing photos of William "Wild Bill" Nelson during his Vietnam days with the 17th Special Operation Squadron, where he had served with one James Hardwick, who later became Col. James Hardwick, Sr. Johnny also finds Nelson's medical discharge papers, a purple heart he was awarded at the time of his discharge, and a military issue Colt .45. *** James is loaded into an ambulance for his second hospital stay in less than a month. *** Hampton discovers that his daughter is sick and in need of medical care and extensive tests. *** A few nights later, on a routine "patrol" of the park, Johnny and Hampton see the kids that had been spray painting a few weeks earlier, the night they followed them into the zoo and Rob had scared the bejeezus out of them. If only Rob could have come along tonight, he would've loved sending them home scared of the big faceless bogeyman in the park. Tonight, they're not painting, but they are raising a ruckus, running joggers off the paths with their skateboards. After they pass, Hampton gets a call on his cell. He feels it vibrate and knows, as only a father can, that something is wrong with Cassie. He quietly answers, and Danni asks him to come home, just in case. She tells him its nothing serious, but after what happened at the mall, when she missed the symptoms and Cassie had her seizure, she thinks Cassie's breathing is getting shallow and, still blaming herself for last time, she wants Hampton home just in case. As Hampton exits the park, he sees a skateboard by the bushes, but rushes past, concerned with his daughter and his young ward. Danni has taken care of him so many times since he saved her that night, he doesn't want to leave her to feel at fault for Cassie's seizure. Hampton thinks that he owes Danni more than she ever thought she owed him. After Hampton leaves, Johnny hears noise in the bushes nearby and investigates. He finds signs that someone else had been staking out the park, a little area of brush pushed down and, most disturbingly, a sign, on cardboard, left behind by whoever it was. "Here's #3 Harv." But thankfully, there is no corpse, only a piece of cloth that snagged on a nearby bush. a torn piece of bandana that Johnny recognizes as being a sign of a local street gang. As he leaves the park, he sees the skateboard near the bushes, the one Hampton saw, and checks it out. He sees signs of a struggle and follows the tracks to near a small fountain, not far from the "Lord of the Rings" statue garden. The fountain has another sign hanging from it, "Got another one!" The body in the fountain is one of the kids Johnny and Hampton had seen earlier, one of the kids Rob had scared out of the park that night a few weeks ago. His crimes, as far as Johnny knew, were limited to vandalism and rudeness, maybe some petty theft or something, but nothing that caused him to deserve this fate. His body was electrocuted, much like the last one, but this time, by the water of the fountain being charged with electricity. Johnny's heart sinks as he slowly pulls out his phone and dials 911 again.
  4. Re: What Other Dark Champions Resources Would You Recommend? Thanks for those additional resources. Now I have to search for them. Also, Boondock Saints is one of my favorite movies.
  5. Thanks everyone in advance for your help. I've been warmly welcomed to your little online community here and feel quite at home. As some of you may know, I'm running what is, essentially, a Dark Champions game, set in Hudson City (though I have made a few minor changes to the city), but instead using a heavily modified version of D20 Modern (using Grim N' Gritty Rules, freeform experience, and some other alterations). I chose these rules, because most of the players are more comfortable with the D20 system than anything else (their 2nd choice would probably be Storyteller). We've done 8 sessions so far (7 are posted in the Campaign Log thread and the 8th should be there by Friday) and its going great. One of the strange, obsessive-compulsive things I do when I run a game is to collect as many pertinent resources as possible. I commented in an earlier thread about the general lack of web-based resources, but I've since turned to Amazon and RPGNOW and have been collecting as many pdf and print resources as possible. So far I have purchased Hudson City and Predators, as well as the Dark Champions and DC: The Animated Series core books, as pdf files. More recently I have scavenged private dealers on Amazon and found Underworld Enemies, Hudson City Blues (that took a couple of tries), and Justice, Not Law in print form. My question is... What other sources would be helpful for me in running this campaign? Thanks again! Wolfgang
  6. Re: Bangkok Dangerous I can't wait to see Righteous Kill with DeNiro & Pacino. It seems like required viewing for my group.
  7. Re: Horry County Hudson City - Campaign Log Session 7 - "Like A Walk In the Park" (8/31/08) Watching the dvd's makes Johnny sick. He's been watching them for too many hours lately. He needs to get out of that apartment, get out on the streets. It seems like all he does lately is watch the videos and work on his gadgets. Its way past time for a patrol, a walk through the park. Johnny has some unfinished business with some punks there. The gang who attacked that high school kid and killed that drug dealer may be out again. With public pressure dying down, the police have backed off from their increased patrols through LeMastre Park. This time, Johnny takes Hampton and Rob with him. He and Rob have their "work clothes" in bags slung over their shoulders, while Hampton wears his under his street clothes. They take up positions near where Johnny was the night he stopped the gang from killing that kid. They change clothes, Hampton revealing his crime-fighting attire to Johnny and Rob for the first time, obviously uncomfortable, but in his element at night, out in the city. They wait, and finally see a guy walking fast with his head down, his hands in his pockets, trouble possibly on his mind. They hold their positions and watch him as he moves around a bend in the path, out of sight past some trees. Isn't there a playground over that way? Just then, they hear him scream. A scream of shock and surprise. As they cross the path, he comes running back at full speed. He is confronted, mumbles terrified words, runs off, terrified. They continue moving quickly towards where he came from, where he screamed. There it is. The playground. The fence. The body. Tied to the fence. Its one of them, one of the gang that Johnny fought that night. One of the guys he saved that kid from. He's tied to the fence with his arms out. He's been burned. Scratch that. He's been electrocuted. Hampton and Johnny can both see the marks on his throat. Looks like some sort of electric cattle prod has been used on either side of his throat. All too quickly, Johnny gets it. He sees that this has been made to look like he... like Ampere did this. Hampton is suspicious. Did Johnny do it? He checks the body. Looks like its been done in the past hour. He was with Johnny that whole time. They see the sign left pinned to the front of the corpse. "Here's another one for you Harv." Harvey Justice. The crazy radio guy who broke the story about Ampere. The one Johnny called and then emailed. This was a copycat. Somebody mercilessly killing criminals using electricity. The scrawled words crawl across the cardboard and they barely see the other members of the gang approach. "You sick freak! You killed Willie! Now I'm gonna kill you!" Threats tossed. A knife flashes. Rob is still hiding in the bushes across the path when the thugs attack. There are four of them. They all ignore Hampton and make a beeline for Johnny, for Ampere, for the guy they think killed their friend. Johnny flashes his taser, holding them at bay for a moment. Rob pops a smoke grenade and appears through the smoke, an imposing figure all in black, striking fear into the thugs. Their worst mistake was ignoring Hampton. He's all motion and fists. The gang retreats, swearing vengeance on Johnny for the death of their friend. Johnny calls the police to find the body and the three of them disappear into the night. Over the next few days, Johnny learns of a place that's been dealing the sick videos. He now has a connection in the Strip's seedy underworld. His twitchy contact, Tommy, sells him some pot, gets him some morphine and painkillers, and most importantly, some information. He also manages to lose some of Johnny's money to his bookie, but Johnny bails him out of the trouble, earns his gratitude. Hampton gets a call from Mr. Anthony. A reporter he knows has given him some information about a sleazy city councilman, Richard Thompson. He's been seen around a certain business too sleazy to even be right on the Strip. Word is that Mr. Thompson has developed a taste for young flesh and has found a place to play out his fantasies, for a price. Hampton checks it out and lets Johnny know. Johnny sets up surveillance for a few nights, using his camera and his microphones. He knows that even if the guys inside know you, you still need to name the guy who is vouchsafing you into the place. He sees guys going in with bags, toys, balloons, and garment bags. He even sees Thompson go in. Through Tommy he confirms that this place is a playhouse for rich freaks who like to play with children, "If you know what I mean." Everybody on the street knows the place belongs to Calvin Johnson. Johnson is well connected with the police, city council, and just about everybody else. To cross Calvin Johnson is to invite death into your life. Aaron, not trusting Robert Anthony or his motives, decides that life as a vigilante is just not for him. Tina's killer has been brought to justice and his name has been cleared. Aaron decides to go back to running his club and serving as support for the rest of the guys. He tells them to call him whenever they need anything, including a safehouse. James continues to stay with his mother and allow her to baby him because that way, he has access to his father's study, his papers, his photos. He can spend some time investigating his father's murder. He knows that his father spent some time volunteering and providing clothing for a large homeless shelter near Boxtown. In his father's papers, James finds a photo of his father with a homeless man in what looks like a military surplus coat his father likely donated to the shelter. He also finds an old picture from his father's early days in the Air Force. After the heat dies down in the park, Johnny, Hampton, and Rob head back out. This time they find a group of kids with spray paint cans painting everything in sight, busting up stuff, and causing general mayhem. The guys follow them to the fence surrounding the zoo, where the hellions cut open the fence and head inside. While they're clipping fence wires, Rob slips over another part of the fence and meets them inside. Johnny and Hampton confront them from behind, while Rob slips in front of them. The three of them scare the kids so bad that one develops a large wet spot in his jeans. Rob, as The Man In Black, tells them to go home, get out of the park, and come back in the morning to clean up the mess they made. He tells them that if they don't, he and the others will know, and they will find them and make them pay. As the kids are scrambling out of there, the thugs show up again. This time, their leader is brandishing a gun and the others have knives. "This is for Willie" he yells as he pulls the trigger, shooting Johnny under that same shoulder. He makes the mistake of ignoring Hampton again. This time it proves almost fatal, as Hampton crushes his nose and all but shatters his jaw, cheekbone and one eye socket. He goes down hard, his face a mess of raw meat. Rob grabs one of the other two thugs who don't escape. Hampton and Johnny grab the other. The zip tie the guys' hands behind their backs and instruct them to take their injured friend to the police station there in the park, to turn themselves in. Johnny calls the station and tells them to expect some visitors. They follow them to near the station, staying to the bushes and shadows. They watch them go inside and see the cops do a cursory search of the area near the station. It seems that this gang's reign of terror in LeMastre Park is over, at least for now.
  8. Re: Horry County Hudson City - Campaign Log Session 6 - "Blood Is Thicker Than Gravy" (8/24/08) July 8, 2008 The Brass Rail sits at the corner of Cayuga St. and 16th Avenue. This is where the dinner will take place. This is why Johnny is hiding behind a newspaper an hour before the appointed time, sitting on a bench down 16th a little ways, watching the people who enter and leave the small restaurant. Aaron called Robert Anthony, Tina's father, after Hampton drove off in the Russians' car with the big man tied up in the trunk. Tina's killer. Aaron hated the idea of Hampton just driving off with him, but agreed that his fate should be decided by the father of his victim, hopefully his last victim. Then, Aaron called Mr. Anthony and made sure that he received the "package" and dealt with it appropriately. Mostly assured that Hampton hadn't betrayed the rest of them, but still unsure how he felt about Tina's father, he finally agreed to meet with him at "The Rail" this Tuesday night, with the others. Mr. Anthony was thankful that his daughter's killer would finally be brought to justice and wanted to thank those who took the law into their own hands to make that possible. Still, Aaron still didn't feel quite right about Anthony. What kind of man would allow his daughter to enter into such a dangerous situation. Also, the fact that she had called Aaron, her former employer at the club, instead of her father still rankled him. There was just something wrong about the whole sorry situation and Aaron didn't like any of it. As they gather for dinner in the private dining room at the back of the restaurant, each arriving individually, they begin with stilted small talk while the banker looks on, greeting each of them, but mostly keeping to himself. Finally, the silver lids are removed from the steamers on the buffet table and Mr. Anthony thanks them for agreeing to meet and invites them to help themselves to the feast. The centerpiece of roasted quail, along with the tenderloin medallions and the succulent vegetables are all exquisite. Throughout the meal, the banker asks questions like, "Why did you go after Tina's killer?" and other. For quite some time they discuss the nature of justice, the state of the city, and the need for people brave enough, or is that stupid enough, to turn things around. Aaron, still mistrustful, asked if his daughter had contacted him to set up a business. Robert Anthony, the investment banker who had hardly been a part of his daughter's life, admitted that she had approached him with a business proposal, unconventional though it had been. She wanted to parlay her street smarts from dancing in the clubs around the Strip, along with her criminal justice education, and her self-defense classes into sort of a non-profit private investigation business, though most p.i.'s would say that there business is non-profit to start with. She had heard of some illicit dealings that made her sick and wanted to take the fight against the criminals who were exploiting her co-workers, people she knew, and bringing more guns, drugs and evil into the city. She needed her father's connections with the powers of Hudson City, the lawyers and judges, the politicians, those who would be swayed by his power and wealth, so that she could blow the lid off the operation she had discovered, and then continue to make a dent in the city's crime-filled streets. Mr. Anthony, looking defeated, had believed in his daughter, had been swayed by her stubbornness and reasoning, and he had been crushed to think that he had allowed the daughter he barely knew to put herself into harm's way and be killed before she had accomplished any of those things. He feared that her death meant nothing. Johnny and Rob and the others reassure him that her death was not in vain, that her death was responsible for shocking them into action, that her killer had been brought to justice and that the operation she had uncovered had been dealt a severe blow by their actions. Her death had spurred ordinary people into action, and would be the start of a movement, of sorts, in Hudson City. The group spends a lot of time talking about justice, and punishement, about the taking of life and the role of the authorities. Then, Mr. Anthony offers them a business proposition. How would they like to take up the newborn legacy Tina left behind and build upon her idea to start a clandestine company to fight the crime and corruption of the city? He offers his financial resources, to a point where they will not be traced back to him, his information on which judges and politicians are corrupt and which ones still serve justice (which he comes to call the Anthony Files), as well as his business acumen. Johnny, Rob, James, Aaron, and Hampton would bring their street smarts, their expertise in bringing criminals to their knees, and their other particular skills, like Hampton's detective work, Johnny's electronics knowledge and computer skills, James' special forces stealth and engineering knowledge, and Rob and Aaron's stature and strength, if they are willing to participate. Johnny opts in immediately, almost too zealously, and James follows suit. Rob calmly throws his hat into the ring as well. Hampton, with much reservation, agrees to help the victims and would-be victims of the rampant crime in the city, contingent on the methods and degree of punishment meted out in the name of justice, saying that its not about the criminals, its about their victims. Aaron is still unsure. Could this Anthony fellow really be trusted? Had his wealth and power corrupted him? Was he setting them all up to really follow in Tina's footsteps? He is still not sure of the answers to those important questions. They end the dinner talking about a location for their new business venture. A front for this illegal enterprise, or even a totally hidden location that would conceal the nature of their comings and goings. After the dinner, Robert Anthony accelerates the diversifying his holdings into a portfolio of small coporations, some owned by other, trusted individuals. Finding ways to fund his newest enterprise without tying himself to the activity. Just like there were more than fireworks on the 4th of July, there are also the increasingly curious radio broadcasts of Harvey Justice...
  9. Re: Help Me Populate A Creepy Hotel That reminds me a lot of the movie Dark City. Each night, time stopped, everybody frozen in place, for an event called the "tuning." It was during this time that the Strangers manipulated the city for their experiments. Wolfgang
  10. Re: Ashes - campaign idea (my players stay out) I would play in it, and I guarantee that most of my players would as well. They're used to that sort of thing.
  11. Re: Hilarious article about vigilantism! Around here, that's like trying to liquify water. Wolfgang
  12. Re: Horry County Hudson City - Campaign Log Session 5 - "The Clean-Up" (8/17/08) The fight is finished, yet there is still much left to be done at the warehouse. After securing Andrei, the leader of this group of Russian criminals, as well as his driver and two other flunkies, Hampton checks on the big guy, Mr. Blue Track Suit, and finds him still alive. The dry cleaner tends to the big Russian enough to ensure that he will not die here in the warehouse before the group tends to other matters. Rob and James (Lt. Hardwick) are badly wounded. Though stable, both could die if not treated by medical professionals in the VERY near future. Johnny (the Italian) takes the gun from one of the Russians and picks up the empty shell casings. He uses the Russians' second vehicle, the one that was not involved in the head-on collision with HCP&L truck, to transport Rob, who is still conscious, and James, who is not, back to an alley near Rob's gym and apartment. He fires a few shots into the wall near his two associates, takes their wallets, and flees back to the warehouse while Rob dials 911 to report the "mugging" that has left them in such a sorry state. Sure, if there's a thorough investigation, the crime scene will look suspicious, but that is a chance they have to take. Knowing the police in this city, the cops will see what they want to see. Returning to the warehouse, Johnny finds Hampton and Aaron presiding over the bound and gagged Russians and has Aaron drive him out to find a van that they can use to haul some of the evidence they've gathered. Among the crates in the warehouse are thousands of hollow point 9mm rounds, parts and tools to convert cheap, readily available 9mm semi-automatics into full automatic weapons, several crates full of drugs hidden inside stuffed animals and similar toys, and most disturbingly, several crates of the most brutal, vile pornographic DVD's any of the group have ever seen. They have stumbled onto a major operation using the Paradise Theater as a base for this sickening filth. Also, in the trunk of the Lincoln, they find Tina's purse. Johnny photographs the evidence, loots all of the cash from the Russians, and removes some of the evidence for further processing while Hampton and Aaron load the big Russian into the trunk of the Russians' second car. Then, the three of them sanitize the warehouse with bleach that Aaron picked up on his way back from helping Johnny find a van. Since all of them were masked except Hampton, who was posing as a dealer at the drug buy, they know that the Russians they are leaving at the warehouse will only be able to identify him, but he is also the only one with a small child at home. Finally, just before leaving the warehouse, Johnny calls Lorraine to tell her that Tina's killer has been taken care of, and then calls the FBI from the prepaid cell phone to inform them that if they come to 1005 Nelson Street in North Elmview, they will find Russian smugglers and arms dealers with a stash of drugs, weapons, and illegal pornography. ... Hampton delivers "Sloth" to Tina's storage unit and leaves him tied up there in the summer heat while he informs Tina's father, Mr. Robert Anthony, a Hudson City investment banker, that his daughter's killer has been captured. They arrange for the big Russian to be left tied up in the car (which has been sanitized) on a pleasant street in Irishtown, telling the FBI where to find him. ... Aaron contacts Mr. Anthony and arranges for a meeting, to thank the group for bringing his daughter's killer to justice. He also calls Tina's mother and tells her that her daughter's killer has been captured. ... After nearly a week, Rob is released from the hospital. The Lieutenant's stay is a full two weeks, as James' injuries are far more severe. Thankfully, the bullet missed his major organs and spine. Still, he lost a lot of blood and takes time, and several minor surgeries to regain his strength. ... The group begins to talk about cleaning up the streets of Hudson City, something that several of them have been doing on a small scale already, and doing what police and politicians are unable, or unwilling, to do. They begin discussing the delicacy of their public identities and the need to conceal them from the criminals they will be fighting, especially from the Russians and their Colombian and American associates, who are no doubt eager to track down the people who disrupted their smuggling ring. Johnny also plans to find the stores who are selling the types of pornography they found, and shut them down. He plans on starting a fund to free women who wish to escape the sex industry. *** Johnny Amperello (the Italian) will take up the mantle of "Ampere" and continue to utilize his gloves with built in taser/stun gun apparatus. His affinity with electricity spurs him to study his body's unique electrical properties, no doubt from the lab accident at Strake Industries, which allow him to easily boost cars, improve the speed of computer processors, and boost cell phone and wi-fi connections. Unfortunately, this same affinity proves that it can be a dangerous thing, delivering mild electrical shocks to those he comes into contact with if he is not insulated or discharged. James Hardwick, when he is released from the hospital, seeks to identify and bring to justice the home invaders who murdered his father, retired USAF Colonel James Hardwick Sr. His injuries have bought him extra leave time from the military, but he must find a way to remain in the city to find his father's killer(s) and pursue justice in the"war zone" that IS Hudson City. He acquires a skull mask and a hooded overcoat, calling himself "The Reaper." Rob Kreider patrols the streets wearing a black suit and fedora, with a black (detachable) tie and a black stocking mask. The huge former bodybuilder calls himself "The Man In Black." He often finds that his mere hulking presence is a deterrent to small time criminals. His martial arts studies also allow him to disarm and subdue would-be criminals. Aaron and Hampton have not yet decided how they will handle, or fully even IF they will handle, the vigilante lifestyle, with Danni (the former medical student he saved from being mugged, or worse, who lives with him and takes care of his daughter) acting as his practical voice for approaching vigilantism. Hampton does not like the thought of wearing tights or a body suit. Whenever he thinks of donning a costume, unappetizing pictures of "Spider-Hampton" have to be forcibly dislodged from his mind. *** Soon after James is released from the hospital, Johnny receives a tearful, frightened call from Lorraine, who informs him that Nona's Russian boyfriend, the guy who shot Hampton and Rob before escaping the warehouse on foot, showed up and kidnapped Nona, telling her that he was taking her "back to the home country" with him. He had been laying low, hiding out since the debacle at the warehouse, and had finally booked passage on a Russian cargo ship with ties to Andrei's people. All she knows is that they left in a cab belonging to the Yellow Cab Co. and that the driver was wearing a turban or some sort of head wrapping. Johnny informs James and Hampton and calls a Yellow Cab. He quickly persuades his driver, with lots of cash, to find out where that cab was going. Luckily, the driver knows which driver Johnny is talking about, and sweet talks the dispatcher into giving him the information. Johnny's driver, Javed Hanif, takes him to the location where the cab dropped off the Nona and her erstwhile beau. As he is walking up to the shipping company, Hampton and James are also converging on the docks. Hampton attempts to attach himself to a container about to be loaded onto the ship, when he hears Johnny ask a dock worker, in Russian, where he can find "the pretty blonde girl" who came with one of Andrei's men. Johnny says he is a friend who brought the change of clothes she forgot. The worker directs Johnny to the shipping offices, saying that they haven't come out yet, since the ship isn't leaving for almost two hours. Overhearing, Hampton and James sneak to the shipping building. James calls out to Johnny, and the two discuss the situation. Hampton enters just as the door to the shipping office is about to close behind his two associates. They are glad to see him. As they take the stairs up to street level, Hampton and James hear Russian voices approaching the building and the sound of flesh meeting flesh and a woman sobbing from behind a door ahead. Hampton throws open the door. The Russian is smackin Nona around in the small, dirty office, lit by a single desk lamp. She sits crying on the ragged couch as her "boyfriend" rants at her and hits her again. Johnny closes the door behind the trio and dons his gloves. The Russian looks up as Hampton delivers a stunning head butt. Johnny moves to comfort Nona while Hampton, with his brass knuckles, and James, wielding a baseball bat, back the Russian thug against the wall. The Russian pulls a gun, but Hampton shatters his nose into a bloody pulp. He fires a single shot at Hampton with his small .22 pistol before Hampton crushes his left eye socket as well. James takes the baseball bat to his abdomen and the Russian crumples to the dirty office floor. The three of them grab Nona and escape the building without incident. They take Hampton and Nona back to Johnny's place, where Danni and Lorraine soon meet them.
  13. Re: Hilarious article about vigilantism! HAHA!!! That's AWESOME!!! Also, thanks for the rep everyone! Wolfgang
  14. I found this link while doing some research for my campaign this morning. It was so funny (to me at least) that I thought I was going to hurt myself laughing. I had to share. Wolfgang
  15. Re: Horry County Hudson City - Campaign Log Hampton has a former medical student living with him who performs limited medical services. The group staged a fake mugging of Rob and James and then Rob called 911 and he and James were rushed to the hospital. Hope his descriptions of the mugging are good.
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