GUMSHOE--The Esoterrorists (Sundays): screen shots, session notes & organization

[Raz_Kabooz]

A screen grab from today's exciting episode of The Esoterrorists!

[Hector Trelane]

The PCs devise a plan to boobytrap an enslaved zombie drone of the Glistening and send it back to the Queen. In the meantime, Thurston takes Astra and Henry to yoga, as they mentally fight the horrible truths they've been exposed to. They meet aging hippies from a commune on the outskirts and are invited to a Reiki session. Wade identifies more Glisten Slaves by intimidating Stuart's drug dealer, Ed Bayer, and checks the smart phone of one person to track his movements and possibly ID the Glisten Queen's location (near the high school football field)? Stuart Mills opens up about dark secrets he knows about Tom West and Joanne Felton and his suspicions about Crazy Mary.

Also, the Adversary Map is up and running, as soon will be the Ordo Veritatis Station, whose front is a cell phone repair shop, Dr. Phone Fix.

[Hector Trelane]

A screen grab from today's exciting episode of The Esoterrorists!

Thanks for the screen shot! Nice one. And great job calling a fun and interesting RP scene.

[Hector Trelane]

The investigators were able to save an innocent, Latrice Hamilton, by infiltrating the lair where Esoterrorists stashed a creature with a form of mind control powers in some non-descript industrial buildings. The agents came up with means to dispatch it, a combination subtle and overt...




In the meantime, the investigators' list of suspects, er, contacts in Town keeps growing...

[Hector Trelane]

Welcome Sheriff Deputy Trent Cole to today's session. He investigated the suspicious explosion at the high school football field, collecting evidence that may point to explosion victim Henry Collins. From there, things got far more eerie, horrific, and lethal... good thing PJ backed him up:

[Hector Trelane]

In today's session, a few days of "normalcy" return. Newspaper coverage of the high school explosion causes public anxiety, so the Agents take further steps to veil out the incident.


Deputy Trent Cole joins the other investigators to share clues, destroy "evidence" (with the help of nine pigs at the Schilling Place), and develop new lines of investigation into Estorrorist activities in Sequoia Falls:




Afterwards, Astra returns to her shop to find a crazily marked-up news clipping left for her and Becky Bullard, having spoken at length with her son Alex and smiling sweetly at Astra as she leaves.

[Hector Trelane]

Some inter-character conflict in today's session as OV Agent Wade Garrett tackles longtime partner PJ upon "seeing" a dark "alien" influence scuttle up and down his skin. That sorted out, the PCs begin to investigate the vandalism at the park, while Officer Rick Donner arrests teenage rebel Stuart Mills for harassing prettiest girl in town Joanne Felton--and for park vandalism, which he assuredly perpetrated...

[Hector Trelane]

Yo, players: unfortunate schedule update: I forgot I’m on family travel on Aug 11 so I can’t make our session. I’ll update our calendar. Still on for Aug 25

[Hector Trelane]

In our session this past weekend:

Deputy Trent Cole establishes that the charges against Stuart Mills are flimsy and begins surveillance on Officer Donner (via squad GPS).

An investigation of graffiti establishes patterns and hotspots, which Trent shares with Wade Garrett and Thurston Davenport. Further analysis reveals that some of these are written in dead ancient languages; Thurston begins the painstaking process of deciphering them. The team visits the gas station and discovers vastly more graffiti than originally thought, including additional scrawls in ancient languages and still more written in invisible ink in an unknown alphabet, viewable under UV light.

A search of the area up the slope behind the gas station reveals paint cans, markers, cigarette butts, and beer cans, and then a trail of heavy footprints running towards the station. Following them backwards to the mesa at the top leads to a ritual site with manacles in a circle, severed hands still locked in them, and a half-dead, naked man baking in the sun chained to the rock.








Snakes of many varieties slither around the site, and Trent is bitten by a rattler while aiding the man. He is forced to back away and call for help, noticing faded ritual markings under his feet in the center of the rock circle as he waits. Wade responds and is astonished by the variety of snakes not native to the area, much less the continent, all in one location. He photographs the entire site, then assists the deputy in carefully extracting himself from the nest of serpents when a mass of shadow rises from a thicket and approaches the circle and the chained man. Agent Garrett whirls, draws a bead through his adrenaline rush, and begins firing rapidly...



As Deputy Trent Cole fights the sharp pain and creeping numbness of the rattler venom climbing his arm, his heart now beating faster, will he be able to aim his pistol?

(Oh, how much can ride on a single, fateful (missed) roll...)

[Hector Trelane]

Currently accepting new players in this game! Post on this thread or PM me if interested.

P.S. I'll post updates from recent game sessions soon (I'm two or three behind).