[NWoD][Mortals] Paranormal Investigations

[malachi666]

While flipping through the current issue of the Boston Globe, you come across a strange ad located in the classified section. It is a help wanted ad for "Paranormal Investigations."

The ad states that "they are looking for anyone with that has a serious interest in the paranormal and that is also of a scientific bent. Pay based on a case by case basis. ONLY SERIOUS APPLICANTS WILL BE CONSIDERED. If you are interested please contact Dr. Phillip Monroe at (phone number/email address)."

Intrigued you decide to apply...

----

I would like to run a paranormal investigation campaign using the NWoD system set in the Boston and surrounding area. I am looking for 3-4 players. I will be using mature themes and there will be a healthy balance of roleplay and action. I will be using a modified version of the New World of Darkness campaign setting. I want to be able to improvise as we go to keep it fresh and interesting. I also would like to keep the players guessing.

As far as characters are concerned I am open to any idea within reason. Keep in mind ths is a mortal's campaign. For now I would like to use just the core book for character gen.

Here are the details for the game:

Days: Either Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday
Time: 7 or 8 p.m. until 11-11:30 p.m. EST (Time is negotiable)
VOIP: Yes, I would like to use Skype as that is what I am most familiar with.

Slot 001: trialaccess
Slot 002: ButtatakiBuddha
Slot 003: Seth
Slot 004:

I will post more if I can think of anything else that is needed. Please post here or send me a PM if you are interested. As spots are taken I will enter the username in one of the above slots.

Thank you.

[trialaccess]

Jacob Dunn is in town following a lead on an old apartment building that is advertised as a 'haunted experience'. It turns out that the building is full of gimicks and legends. On his way out of town, he stops by a diner and picks up a copy of the globe. Then he sees the ad. It peaks his interest and he picks up the phone at the back of the diner.

Jacob Dunn is in his mid-thirties. He typically wears a brown leather jacket, and Levi’s, with a button up shirt. He tries really hard to be clean, but he lives on the road. He has a beat-up ’67 Chevy pickup, a tarp covers a pickup bed full of boxes. Everything he owns is in the truck.

Jacob used to be a P.I., now he uses his powers of deduction, and the modest income from an insurance payout to travel the back roads of America, trying to solve cases for folks that society has forgotten about.

Dunn is a man on the search. Six years ago, his wife and son were killed by a drunk driver. The night of the accident, his son showed up at the house to say good bye, and Dunn has been searching for them ever since. He has been going from one haunt to the next, doing whatever he can to try and see his family again. Most of the cases he takes are about ghost stories. Possible paranormal activity.

Jacob Dunn’s equipment includes several boxes of toys and clothes that belonged to his family. A Colt Single Action Army revolver, and a steel baseball bat. He only uses these weapons in defense. Most of the cases he has worked on so far don’t pay very much, a meal, a warm bed, so he does what he can to help others move on. To help others adapt, and evolve to the people they need to be.

Dunn is interested in the ad because it could finally be the answer he has searched for for so long.

[malachi666]

well done trial. And welcome.

[ButtatakiBuddha]

Zimbardo, an Iron-worker from Tennessee, was falsely accused of murdering his wife and kids. He and his wife had been in a serious argument the night before, so he left. The only thing he took with him was his bike and tools he normally keeps with him. After he had cooled off, he went back home only to find that his house and everything in it, including his family, had been burned to a crisp. As he started to look around, he got a call from his buddy, Joe, who works at the Police Department. Joe said that the police were looking for him and he needed to run as far as he can as soon as possible.

After a couple days of running Zimbardo began to grow tired and hungry. He hadn't been able to get a decent night's sleep since that night of the argument, and now he couldn't afford a place to stay, food to eat, or fuel for his bike to travel any further. After pushing his bike for a couple miles he passed out in the middle of the street.

When he came to he saw a bum staring at him. He immediately tried to jump to him feet, but fell over again. The bum said to him, "I would try that again, you've been asleep for 12 hours, you must be hungry. Here eat this," the bum said as he offered him a half-eaten sandwich wrapped in a newspaper. "The name's Ray," he added with a smile. At first Zimbardo was going to refuse, but his stomach protested, the bum just smiled again.

Once Zimbardo had finished the sandwich, Joe contacted him again. He told him what was going on. He said that the police had heard about the fight between him and his wife, and that he was the prime suspect of the arson. However, he said that the fire was different than anything they'd ever seen before. He said that they couldn't find what started it or where it started. It was like the entire place just burst into flames at the same time. As Zimbardo was listening to this his eyes fell upon the words "Paranormal Investigations." He unfolded the newspaper the sandwich was wrapped up in to read the article. He told Joe to see if he could find out more, be he was going to follow a lead he had just found.

He looked back at Ray and asked if he knew what had happened to his bike. Ray said, "you're lucky it's me that found you. Most people would have sold your stuff, but I didn't. It's around back, here follow me." Ray led Zimbardo further down the alley, only to find that his bike was there, safe and sound. "I hope you don't mind, but I took it for a little joy ride," Ray said, "so the tank should be full from where I filled it when I was done." Zimbardo gave Ray his thanks and left, and contacted Dr. Phillip Monroe to schedule an interview.

[Seth]

Cheering and applause rang out from the gathered crowd as Hope finished another song. She had been playing in the park since before dusk and the small few dozen had gathered from passersby or word of mouth. The crowd was mostly young people who had nowhere better to be, and a few dog walkers who had been ensnared by one of Hope’s uplifting ballads.

“I’m gonna play some more later, but right now y’all should take a few minutes to get to know one another. The world can be real scary, but even just one good friend can make all the difference, and the one thing you can never have enough of is friends.”

Hope set her instrument down against the park bench, hoping no one would try to steal a weathered old acoustic guitar. She took a long drink from a bottle of water (regular water that is, none of that Big Water fancy bottled scam) and started moving through the crowd. She was new in town and looked to follow her own advice. A young and pretty blonde, making new friends wasn’t ever all that difficult for the extroverted Texan. Friends can make all the difference, or at the very least maybe they notice when you go missing.

People shouldn’t ought to just go missing, not in the 21st century, but they do. A lot. More than most folk know. Sometimes it is hard to even tell when a person is gone; the police can’t almost ever know if some street kid has gotten an off the books job in another city, or was chopped to pieces in someone’s basement. Over the last five years, Hope had witnessed dozens of people go missing, and all kinds; from the mumbling old veteran who used to dive dumpsters, to college kids with no good reason to vanish, to young people straight off the bus from their own personal Smallville. Mostly the monsters were just regular bad folk, and Hope had helped put the police on the trail of a few, but at least sometimes, the bad wasn’t folk at all. The very worst of all was when someone goes missing and comes back all different, like they never even noticed they had been gone at all. And so Hope moved about the small crowd with her video camera, saying “Hi” while taking names and faces.

Later - exhausted after a long day of busking and socializing, Hope climbed into the back of her old van, closing and locking the doors behind her. Inside, the van was dark and it smelled like an old laundry basket. Hope crawled onto the mattress that dominated the rear of the van and laid her guitar to rest atop her small, uneven pile of belongings, right beside her old rifle.

Hope shed her boots, belt and jeans before laying down on the mattress and focusing on her footage from tonight. By the gentle light of the camera, Hope made some quick notes while she watched. She was looking for people she might genuinely be able to help, people who could help her, and those most likely to meet unexplainable ends. Over the years Hope had created some powerful documentaries concerning the lives of those who lived on the streets. She had also made a few films concerning the supernatural, but they were all woefully incomplete. One day she would find one of her monsters, and then everyone would know about it.

Tomorrow she would see about an ad concerning some paranormal investigation gig. She wasn’t exactly sure what they were looking for, but she hoped to convince them that finding something isn’t all that until you have someone to record the find and let people know.

[malachi666]

Well done Seth and welcome.

[malachi666]

OK, I have mulled it over, how is August 24th for a start date. That is a week tomorrow. I will be more than ready then and we can starting hammering out the characters a little more and work through preludes. I will send me skype info along to the two new players, I would really like to hook up online via skype before the first session, just to get to know you both.

Anyone else that may be interested, please post here or send me a PM if you are not quite sure and have questions.

I was also thinking of running the game every other Tuesday (starting on the 24th) this is most conducive for my schedule at the moment.

[malachi666]

Oh and well done as well Buddha.

[malachi666]

bump, just trying to see if anyone else is interested. One spot left.

[malachi666]

Game is a go this eve. I will start things around 7:30 p.m. I will let you all know the address via skype. See you then!

[ButtatakiBuddha]

not trying to be pushy, but it help if you use the calendar. I think it makes it very convenient.

[malachi666]

sorry, I have never used it before.

[ButtatakiBuddha]

So, are we going to play the game tonight or next week?

[ButtatakiBuddha]

Are we on for tomorrow?

[Seth]

Unfortunately I have been booked for work for two weeks (last week and this one) so I won't be able to make it.

[malachi666]

I was hoping to play tonight. Seth is out apparently.

[malachi666]

I was hoping to play tonight. Seth is out apparently.


Crap! sorry guys I am out tonight after all. My schedule at work is changing and so Tuesdays aren't going to work me after all. Sorry guys.

[ButtatakiBuddha]

yeah, Tuesdays don't work for me either. I just found out that they changed my physics class to 7:00 PM, that's the time the game starts for me.

[elydustin]

I am willing to learn the game if you guys want another player.

[freedomischaos]

I haven't gotten much of a chance to actually play WoD, but I've ran a few games, just never got the chance to play as a player. I'd be up for M,W,Th or on the weekends. Tuesdays and Fridays aren't available.

Just let me know, thanks.
-Dave