Agents of The Estate - Project ESPER

A Strange Birthday

To celebrate my thirty-seventh birthday I told my family that all I really wanted was to play a role-playing game.  I've had a lot of ideas brewing, and this would give me an opportunity to test them out on some willing participants.  Using a vacation day, I spent the morning and early afternoon finalizing my Strange Cinematic Universe, and by evening I was ready to bring everyone to the table. 

This blog entry broken down into several sections.  

• First, I'll cover ESPER's, the super heroes that exist in my campaign for The Strange.  
• Second, you'll find an adventure outline for Pittsburgh Pulp, allowing you to run this very same adventure with your own Strange or Cypher System Super Heroes groups.  
• Finally I give the summary of what happened at our table, along with some of the quotes.

Lawbreaker Serum

Following the events of my current Cypher System Fantasy meets The Strange campaign, there becomes a way for recursors from worlds other than Earth to retain their powers.  The Estate R&D division learned how to synthesize the power of the Baezedaar Bracers of Ardeyn  creating a special serum (in the form of a cypher) that grants users the ability to permanently retain  recursion laws while undergoing inapposite gate travel.  

Official Estate designation for the serum is LB-X3, which stands for "Legendary Baezedaar Experiment #3", however most agents refer to it as "Lawbreaker".  Typically when someone (or something) travels through an inapposite gate, they lose their native laws (magic, mad-science, super powers) in a few days.  But with the Lawbreaker, they can keep any powers and abilities as they travel from recursion to recursion.

Unfortunately, it didn't take the Estate long to learn that they weren't the first to figure out how to engineer Lawbreaker serum.  The shadowy Bradley Cooperative had access to a Baezedaar bracer, worn by the Dragon-God Rhilan.  They created their own serum, and the Estate believes it was released onto the black market to the most powerful criminal organizations in the world.

New Cypher:  LB-X3 or Lawbreaker Serum

• Level:  1d6+3
• Earth:  A vile of purple-tinged liquid, often delivered via syringe 
• Arden:  A thin, ceramic replica of a Baezedaar Bracer
• Ruk:  A canister filled with a purple jelly
• Effect:  Lawbreaker Serum permanently grants the user the ability to retain their native recursion laws indefinitely.  World to world, recursion to recursion, their foci and any special abilities never fade.  This has the most effect for recursors traveling from recursions where super powers or godlike abilities are available.  Power shifts are covered under this effect as well.  A significant drawback to the Lawbreaker Serum is that it cannot be used by someone who is Quickened.  While the original Baezedaar Bracers granted anyone this power, it did so at the risk of alerting Planetovores to the Earth's presence.  The Lawbreaker Serum's power is more limited, and only works on those who have strong connections to their own home recursion.   

E.S.P.E.R.

Faced with this new threat of wizards, dragons, super villains, and mad scientists coming to Earth to take up residence, the Estate decided to start recruiting super heroes.  This new division would be called E.S.P.E.R., or "Estate Supernatural Paranormal Extraordinary Ranger."  Lead Operative Katherine Manners placed star agent Lily "Dance Tank" Hayes (as played by +Darcy Ross in my second playtest of The Strange) as the new chief of ESPER.  Potential ESPER agents and operatives (often just called "ESPER's") were located in their home recursions, given the LB-X3 serum, and brought back to Earth.

ESPER's are specially trained and equipped to deal with the strongest threats that face the Earth.  While the program was created as a direct counter to other super-power wielding forces, ESPER's are often dispatched against threats traveling through inapposite gates, as they wield special abilities for a few days.

The Pittsburgh ESPER's

Our family created the following characters for this new adventure:

My wife Jennifer played Megara Parr, once a villain and now trying to become a hero.

• Clever Speaker who Commands Mental Powers
• Native to the Metroville recursion (The Incredibles)
• Power Shifts:  Erase Memories 3, Spin Identity 2

Cooper, my five year old, played Ciron Man, his homage to "Iron Man," but with a letter "C" for "Cooper"

• Swift Explorer who Fuses Flesh and Steel
• Native to a Marvel recursion
• Power Shifts:  Recovery Rolls 2, Melee Damage (Spiked Glove) 2, Ranged Damage (Palm Blaster) 2

Evie, nine, played Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom

• Noble Warrior who Carries a Quiver
• Native to Mount Olympus
• Power Shifts:  Ranged Damage (Athena's Bow) 2, Ranged Attack (Athena's Bow) 1, Armor 2

Finally Carrie, twelve, came up with The Doodler, a young girl who can bring art and animation to life

• Creative Adept who Exists in Two Places at Once
• Native to a Marvel recursion
• Power Shifts:  Duplicate 3, Onslaught 2, 

Adventure Outline - Pittsburgh Pulp

I threw together a quick adventure for my wife and kids, so I thought I'd share the full adventure outline.  Feel free to expand on this skeleton and turn it into something much bigger for your own home game!  I may even give this a shot with a grownup group, or at a future convention.

• The player characters are ESPER's, members of a special arm of the Estate
• Recent ESPER recruits, have not been sent on a mission yet.
• Working out of a small office park in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, just east of Pittsburgh.  
• The ESPER's receive word from Chief Hayes that something terrible has happened at the Carnegie Science Center on Pittsburgh's North Side.
• The call comes through very early in the morning, around 7am.
• Chief Hayes says that a madman has taken over the Carnegie Science Center, along with a force of mechanized soldiers in some kind of weird power armor.  
• The ESPER's are to travel to the Carnegie Science Center, clear the area of civilians, infiltrate, and bring the maniac to justice.  
• The villain is needed for questioning, and is not to be killed.
• The ESPER's are to operate undercover, and not openly reveal their abilities unless absolutely necessary.
• Pittsburgh Traffic
• Once the ESPER's get the information, they will find out that the road's are jammed.  Parkway East traffic is at a standstill due to activity around the city.  
• Estate orders mean that the ESPER's will need to come up with creative ways to get to the other side of the Squirrel Hill Tunnels fast. 
• Driving with a car is next to impossible, unless the ESPER's plan to drive through backroads at speeds that will most certainly be dangerous.
• Getting to the Carnegie Science Center in less than an hour will be a level 5 driving difficulty, and a level 6 difficulty in less than a half hour. 
• A similar test for evading the police will be necessary, at a level 6, should the half-hour attempt be made. 
• GM Intrusion!  Flat tire, difficulty 3 repair skill to change.
• Unwelcome Visitors of the Eleventh Reich
• The Eleventh Reich is featured in Worlds Numberless and Strange
• Doctor Walther Goering is a recursor from the Eleventh Reich who stumbled upon an inapposite gate connecting his home recursion with Heinz Field (where the Steelers play). 
• For Doctor Goering I just reskinned the "Mystereon" from The Strange Bestiary.
• Instead of Stealth at a level 6, Doctor Goering gets Mad Science at a level 7.
• Along with a group of super soldiers, Doctor Goering traveled to Earth hoping to learn about any potential technological advances that could help the Fuhrer.  A "science center" seemed like the perfect place to start.
• Doctor Goering's super soldiers have the following stats:
• Level 4
• Health 12
• Speed Defense at Level 5
• Armor 3
• Long Range Machine Gun attack, 5 damage
• These boosts are due to the War Walker artifacts each are wearing, from page 63 of Worlds Numberless and Strange
• Dr. Goering is a mad scientist, capable of creating incredible pieces of pulp technology with limited resources.  He carried enough spare parts with him to build new equipment if necessary.  
• After learning everything he could of this modern Earth at the science center, the Doctor planned to convert the USS Requin into a fully-functioning super-submarine.  Then he could make his escape!
• Arrival at the Carnegie Science Center
• A map to the Carnegie Science Center can be found here
• 2 Nazi armored soldiers guard the front of the building, and 5 the are between the building and the U.S.S. Requin display.  
• The U.S.S. Requin a previously functional World War 2 era submarine.
• There is a lot of commotion happening inside of the submarine, and the 5 guards here are keeping a close eye on anyone approaching.
• There will be a crowd on the eastern edge of the building, held back by a row of police cars.  
• Several small boats are creeping towards the scene via as well, and the police do not notice.  If not dealt with quickly, machine gun fire will erupt from the 1st floor windows, shooting up the civilian boats.  
• Entering the Carnegie Science Center
• Doctor Goering is only interested in the 1st level of the science center right now, and has assembled a work space in the River View Cafe.
• Doctor Goering is protected by 5 of his super soldiers.  At any time 2 are standing near him, and the other 3 patrol the 1st level.
• GM Intrusion!  A custodian arrives on the scene inside the building, and starts up a conversation with the ESPER's, oblivious to what is going on, potentially blowing everyone's cover.
• Chased!
• If Doctor Goering believes that he is at risk of getting overtaken by either the ESPER's or the police, he will run to the Requin carrying a large case (with the help of two of his super soldiers).
• Once inside the Requin, he unleashes the mad science fury, powering up the submarine.  The Requin is a Level 7 submarine, and will dive after 2 rounds.
• GM Intrusion!  The submarine dives early, and a player character gets dragged under water.  
• Reward!
• If the player characters capture Doctor Goering alive they each receive 2 experience points.
• If the player characters manage to capture Doctor Goering without giving away their own abilities they gain an additional experience point.  

Session Summary

Our local team of Pittsburgh based ESPER's were sent in to capture Dr. Goering and bring him back for questioning.  After braving Parkway East traffic, the team arrived at the scene and tried sneaking into the school bus entrance of the Carnegie Science Center.  The Doodler and Megara Parr made it past easily, but Athena and Ciron Man were stopped by the police, even after The Doodler created a pair of sentient pillows (her duplicate) to soften the cyborg's steps.  Megara tried sweet talking the cop, but he became infuriated and tried to arrest the Clever Speaker.  The Doodler was able to glue the police officer's hand to his cuffs, and the team ran inside the science center.

Once inside, the ESPER's found Dr. Goering working on a strange suitcase while laughing maniacally.  Although a nearby janitor, unaware of the situation, made shooting difficult, Megara Parr fired off some stun gas bullets, taking two of Dr. Goering's guards out of action temporarily.  Since they wanted the Dr. Alive, The Doodler convinced Althena to put an arrow in Dr. Goering's knee.  

Megara tried reasoning with Dr. Goering, asking him to come quietly for questioning.  The Doctor explained that he wanted to go to the submarine, but Megara kept him from doing so.  Everything was going fine until the psychic admitted that they weren't planning on killing the Nazi scientist.  Dr. Goering injected himself with a healing syringe and ran off.  Megara, accompanied by The Doodler's pillow-based alter ego, chased down Dr. Goering, and knocked him to the ground.

A firefight opened up, with Megara and the Doodler's duplicate getting blasted by power-armor clad soldiers.  Athena, Ciron Man, and The Doodler made short work of the ones inside the Carnegie Science Center, and by the time they joined Megara, the psychic had the situation under control.  Megara zapped Dr. Goering's mind and made him forget the entire incident.  She even implanted a memory, suggesting that he wanted to accompany the party back to headquarters.  

The team was almost done, but they stopped to let Dr. Goering hand off his briefcase.  One of the guards took the case and put it in the USS Requin, causing the submarine to gain power and speed off out of control towards the city of Pittsburgh!  Dr. Goering warned that if the sub impacted a building there would be a great explosion.  Quickly The Doodler drew some jump boots on her feet while Athena fired an arrow, tied off to a rope, at the sub.  The two heroes boarded the craft, and Athena used a shield cypher as a blade to destroy the briefcase powerplant.  

Quotes

The Doodler:  "Bow and Arrow girl, let's go."

Athena:  "Excuse me?  Call me by my goddess name!"

"Aww, he's gonna take an arrow to the knee!"  - Carrie

"Take him down, Pillow Fort!" - Jen

"Have you met my buddy Ciron Man?  He takes care of those who shoot."  - Megara 

Carrie's gift to me, a portrait!

My Strange Cinematic Universe

I spent some time last week writing about a potential shift in my regular, grown-up gaming group, but I didn't even consider that my kiddos would have some input.  We've been on a bit of a super-hero binge here at the Walls residence, blasting through the Marvel Cinematic Universe one flick at a time.  While my wife and I have seen several of the movies (Iron Man, The Avengers, and Captain America: The First Avenger), the kids had only seen bits and pieces of these, all when they were younger.  So my daughter Evie and I made a trip over to the local CD Warehouse and grabbed up Captain America: Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Ant Man.  

Adding these to our existing collection we started watching one movie a day.  It's been a lot of fun exploring these films with the family, especially those that I hadn't seen yet.  Each child's reaction has been different, and somewhat surprising.  

Cooper's favorite super hero is Spider Man... wait, now he says Batman... wait, he just said his "pretty close favorite one is Iron Man."  I think it's safe to say that my five year old isn't quite ready to commit to a favorite yet.  Further confusing is how both Spider Man and Batman came into our conversation just now, considering they were not in the Marvel movies we watched recently.  

Quite surprising is that neither Evie nor Carrie listed a favorite "super hero" from the movies, but instead rattled off the names of villains.  Evie's favorite character was Loki from the Avengers, and Carrie's was Bucky from Captain America: Winter Soldier.  Perhaps I should fear these dark streaks.  

My favorite character from this week's super hero lineup was Hellboy... 

... because he's my favorite super hero of all time, and I sneaked in a viewing late one night while sick.  If Nick Fury really wanted to be rid of Hydra quickly he should've just called his friends over at the BPRD.  

The topic of role-playing games came up last night just after finishing Avengers: Age of Ultron.  I told the girls that I was interested in playing an RPG on my birthday Friday, and Carrie turned to me, bright eyed, exclaiming "super heroes!"  I've spent a lot of time formulating ideas for a supers game with my online group, but it didn't really cross my mind for the kiddos.  

I delayed bedtime last night, and Carrie, Evie, and I drafted some initial thoughts for something we are going to call...

Agents of The Estate

Fans of the The Strange, a Cypher System powered campaign setting by Monte Cook Games, will recognize "The Estate" as a secretive organization that protects the Earth from the dangers of an alien dark energy network.  Estate agents travel across many new worlds and pocket universes, called "Recursions", often spawned from myth and legend.  

Regular readers of this blog may note my love of The Strange, and how easy it is to create incredible mash-up adventures using the setting.    

My daughters are also fans of The Strange, and each have Estate agent characters from previous games.  Together we noted a few parallels between S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Estate while watching the Marvel movies together, although in The Strange the only way (supposedly) to have super powers is to gain them by traveling to recursions.  But still, we could see heroes like Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Falcon working for the Estate.  I plan on using The Estate in a similar manner as the BPRD (Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense) from Hellboy, with our heroes being more secretive and undercover wherever possible.  

The three of us all agreed that a super hero style campaign set in The Strange's multiverse would be a lot of fun, but there was one problem:

The girls wanted to be super heroes even on Earth.

They weren't talking Black Widow or Hawkeye super-spies either; both girls had some very well thought out super hero concepts requiring magic or super-science.

Evie wants to play a young goddess (like Thor or Loki) who wields a magic bow.  

Carrie wants to play a super creative artist who can draw pictures and then animate them into reality.  

Neither of these fit a world with standard physics (a concept from The Strange), but there is no way I'm telling anyone "no."  I just need to figure out how to make this work...

... so I'm open to suggestions.  

Right now I'm thinking about having something occur at the end of my current Cypher System Fantasy/The Strange adventure series that will make this all possible.  I'm just not sure "what" yet.  I've already allowed characters from the recursion of Ardeyn to come to Earth along with their types and foci, so perhaps I've already left this door open and am just now coming to the realization.  

SCU

Marvel fans have their Marvel Cinematic Universe, or "MCU", and my players in The Strange have the same.  Since kicking off my very first playtest of The Strange in December of 2013, I've always considered each adventure and campaign as taking place in the same universe.  As we've moved from one game to another, previous characters have made cameos, either as Estate agents, or of Hoffman Institute operatives (an organization from Alternity: Dark Matter that I used in some early playtests.)

My Marvel fan friends have been very clear that I need to watch the movies in proper order, so I thought I'd come up with my own version of this chronology... but for my games in The Strange.

• The Strange Playtest #1 [Classified, but it involved Norse mythology]
• The Strange Playtest #2 [Classified, but it involved fantasy video games and a U-Haul Golem]
• The Dark Spiral Playtest [Classified, but GM'd by +Jeremy Land.  Characters from this game, especially my paradox Conrad Merrick, have made cameos in later sessions.]
• Dingo & The Cosmos, sessions 1-4 [A short series of adventures with my wife and daughters.]
• Eschatology Code
• All Gobbled Up [A Thanksgiving-themed one-shot]
• Granite Mountain Prison [A D&D Adventure converted to The Strange]
• Under Strange Suns, sessions 1-5 [A Dark Sun/Star Wars/Sherlock Holmes mash-up campaign]
• Cypher System Fantasy, sessions 1-4 [Actually a campaign of The Strange, but Ardeyn-native]
• Gobbler Road: Beyond Gravy Dome [Strange Thanksgiving Special #2, featuring Dingo & the Cosmos]
• Cypher System Fantasy, sessions 5-12 
• Agents of The Estate [Starting this Friday, May 13th, which is my birthday!]

If X-COM met X-Men

Happy 300th blog post to me!

I considered writing a full-length, self-congratulating post to celebrate, but maybe I'm getting too old for that kind of entry.  100 posts seemed like a miracle, and 200 like a decent achievement.  But now this is such a habit that 300 felt like an inevitable milestone.  Nonetheless, 300 seems like a very fitting marker for some upcoming changes in my regular gaming!

Onward 

Barring some completely bizarre derailment, our Cypher System Fantasy campaign will be wrapping up next week in some kind of epic finale.  It's been a great ride, but since I'm a terribly mercurial game master, I'm always excited to start something new.  

I should note that I'm seriously considering taking a step back to be a player for a while, so this entire post could be just a big waste of energy.  If one of my friends runs a series of adventures, who knows what kind of mood I'd be in at the conclusion?  

But I feel like I owe it to myself to go through the thought process, just in case.  So I've spent the last few nights going through old notes and wish lists, looking for something new and shiny.  

Every time I go through this process I have to fight my natural urge to go back to something completely familiar.  I'm always tempted by nostalgia, but I own an ever-growing stacks of un-played and under-played gaming materials that haunt my dreams.  Whenever I get to this point I try to think about settings and campaigns that I've always talked about but never executed properly.

Let me tell you a little about what's cooking in my head.

What if... Aliens?

Back in the summer of 2001 I kicked around ideas for an Alternity: Dark Matter campaign where the players would eventually face an alien invasion in three parts:

• Pre-Invasion Period:  The aliens are probing Earth's defenses, infiltrating governments, and gaining cult-like supporters.  This would part of the campaign would most accurately reflect the original Alternity: Dark Matter source material.
• Active Invasion Period:  The aliens decide to throw down and conquer Earth.  The governments of Earth would expect some kind of "Independence Day" type battle, only to find their efforts ineffective.  
• Post Invasion Period:  The aliens possess Earth, subjugating some humans and leaving the rest to the wastelands.  This part of the campaign would have a lot of post-apocalyptic elements.  

None of these eras are very original, and all have been done before by other television shows, movies, and games.  But typically stories done in these various mediums only focus on one period.  Any kind of alien activity in "The X-Files" takes place during an age of rumor and conspiracy, most definitely Pre-Invasion.  "V" and "Independence Day" reflect two very different styles of invasion, one appearing benevolent and the other decidedly direct, with neither benefiting humanity.  "Falling Skies" dealt with the post apocalyptic aspects of an alien invasion, with humans acting as guerrilla fighters against their new oppressors.  

My goal would be to follow a story, or series of stories, through all three acts...

In [UNNAMED ALIEN CAMPAIGN SETTING] the player characters would begin with very minor special-abilities, perhaps just being exceptional humans, serving as an organized resistance.  They investigate alien abductions, counter cult activity, and try to cement alliances with organizations.  This part of the campaign was very inspired by "X-COM Apocalypse", my go-to alien-hunting game between 1998 and 2001.  

During the second and third acts the characters would develop.  Perhaps they would remain low-powered super-heroes, or maybe they would find ways to infuse themselves with alien energies.  If nuclear weapons or alien bio warfare were used in the conflict I could have a reason to throw in some X-Men style mutations.  A few dashes of power-armor could be a lot of fun to play with as an homage to one of my favorite 1990's cartoon shows "EXO-Squad."  

I never got very far with the development of these later ideas because the campaign never got off the ground.  It's remained as some simple notes in a few journals on my bookshelf.  

Upcoming Inspiration

It appears as if I'm in for a summer of super heroes and aliens, which is why I'm considering reviving this old project.  Our family is doing a Marvel movie marathon this weekend, catching up so that we can maybe see "Captain America: Civil War" next week.  "Independence Day: Resurgence" comes out later this summer, and I went stark raving mad over the original, seeing it seven times in the theater!  

On the gaming front I'm playing through X-COM Enemy Within, since I've only finished the "Enemy Unknown" campaign when the game came out a few years ago.  Here's hoping that X-COM 2 goes on the Steam Summer Sale soon.

Wish List

With all this potential inspiration, and since Cypher System Fantasy is winding down, the timing could be perfect for an alien invasion style RPG campaign.  I'm pretty sure I know what I would want in a reboot of my [UNNAMED ALIEN CAMPAIGN SETTING] concepts, as well as what I want to stay away from.  Although this idea is in its infancy, and definitely subject to change, here's what I have so far:

• Core Concept:  I'd run a campaign that is essentially "X-COM meets X-Men".  I want gritty over fantastic, but with a little room for comedy.  Maybe dark comedy, but I'm not sure how I'd pull that off.
• Super Powers:  Serums, mutations, and power armor all work for this kind of game, so depending on the system I use, Super Power rules may help build interesting characters, especially as the campaign progresses.  In Necessary Evil, a Savage Worlds campaign setting and plot-point-campaign, players are evil super villains fighting alien invaders.  I think I'd want to scale things back on the power level, and go for more low-key powers.  I'm thinking Black Widow and Hawkeye rather than Thor and the Hulk.  
• Invasion Eras:  I'd love to get the opportunity to run a long enough series of adventures to cover the three aforementioned stages of an alien invasion.  I'd consider branching the outcomes of each stage based on player character choices.  Choosing not to stop an alien abduction in the first stage could lead to interesting consequences if that abductee finds themselves in power during the third stage.  
• Secret Government Organization:  Dark Matter had the Hoffman Institute, and Marvel has S.H.I.E.L.D., so I'd want something similar.  Something that starts off as a secret government group that breaks away and dissolves into cells during the later periods.  
• Time Period:  [UNNAMED ALIEN CAMPAIGN SETTING] was going to take place in the early 2000's, but that time's come and gone... or has it?  Maybe a campaign set in the 1990's, during the age of Independence Day, would be interesting?  Or go all the way back to 1947, just after World War 2, and let this all play out?  These ideas all seem like possible fun, but just increase the workload.  Most likely this would be set in the very near future.  

System

I was initially tempted to try this out as a sequel to Quattro con Carnage.  Open up with Alternity and then progress into Savage Worlds and the Cypher System.  That could be cumbersome with the technology and super power rules being so different in each system, and I don't even know that many people who still remember how to play Alternity.  

I think it's safe to say that I'd be using either the Cypher System or Savage Worlds, both of which could give the players different experiences.  It would be a very hard decision, and one that I'd probably leave for the group...

... I wonder if I could pull of a Dungeon Crawl Classics 0-level funnel too... hmm.

Parting Shots

I truly don't know how far this is going to go.  If I end up taking a break from the GM'ing, I could return to the role ready to play something completely different, like Deadlands or Edge of the Empire or more Numenera.  As I've mentioned in previous posts, I suffer from that terrible malady defined by +Ron Blessing  as "Ooh Shiny Syndrome."  Just ask my players!  

But if I could take the time to cobble together a fun and action packed aliens vs. super heroes setting, this is what I'd do.  

As always, I'm open to comments and feedback!  If you've run a similar campaign, I'd love to hear about it.  Also, if you have any other resources that you think I need to check out, please let me know where I can find them.  

Cypher System Fantasy - Dragon Hunt

Now With 50% Less Verbiage!

Regular readers of Living 4 Crits, especially those who have been following our Cypher System Fantasy campaign, take note.  

What you have before you is my "new and improved" session report blog format.  A few days ago I asked for, and received, some feedback from the community regarding my blog format.  While I enjoy going back to read my old adventure summaries and play reports, actually writing these documents became incredibly time consuming.  On a good day it would only take one hour of writing for every hour spent in game.  Often that ratio would balloon out of proportion.  

Skipping these recaps was not an option.  This blog started out as a home for my play reports, and it will remain as such... until the end of time.  

But I needed to do some trimming.  

I have adopted a format similar to what I've been using for my Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG World Tour 2016 events: some play notes and a bunch of interesting bullets.  In addition, and by popular request, I've kept the "Quotes" section, and expanded that content.  

So read on and let me know what you think.  

Living 4 Crits Presents

A Cypher System Fantasy/The Strange Campaign

Gabriella Winter and the Dragon Curse of Ardeyn

Cast

• Zamani, a Spiritual (Ugallu*) Explorer (Magic) who Masters Foot and Fist**, played by Andy
• Shenuesh, a Rugged Adept (Combat) who Wields Two Weapons at Once, played by Jeremy
• Yaren, a Foolish Warrior who Stands Like a Bastion, played by Craig
• Verrenn, a Spectral*** Adept who Casts Spells, played by Marc
• Gabriella****, a Charming Spinner who Works the System, played by Frank

* Ugallu is a race option from Broken Immersion by Ryan Chaddock Games
** Masters Foot and Fist is from Worlds Numberless and Strange by Monte Cook Games
*** Spectral is a new and original focus written by Marc Plourde and featured on his blog, Inspiration Strikes
**** Formerly a Charming Speaker who Works Miracles on Ardeyn

Our Story So Far… 

• Episode 1:  Dream Patrol
• Episode 2:  Ribs
• Episode 3:  Skull
• Episode 4:  Glitch
• Episode 5:  Starfall in Ardeyn, Part One
• Episode 6:  Starfall in Ardeyn, Part Two
• Episode 7:  Starfall in Ardeyn, Part Three
• Episode 8:  Through the Night
• Episode 9:  Sailors on the Starless Sea, Part One
• Episode 10:  Sailors on the Starless Sea, Part Two
• Episode 11:  Welcome to The Strange

Episode 12: Dragon Hunt

Summary

Gabriella Winter and her associates from the fantasy recursion of Ardeyn travel to Western Maryland to investigate the Bradley Cooperative.  Unable to truly integrate themselves into modern Earth society, the party has some strange interactions with the locals.  They even had the opportunity to participate in a fantasy roleplaying game in their hotel room with some country-folk.  After locating the Bradley Cooperative's headquarters at Wisp Golf Course, the party showed up looking to play a round of golf.  Verrenn used his ability to turn invisible to locate Verity Bradley's secret office.  

The Bradley Cooperative staff asked the party to leave, and ended up overhearing some of the comments between Zamani, Shenuesh, Yaren, and Gabriella.  The staff pulled their weapons, and a brutal combat opened up in the clubhouse.  At the end of the fight, four staff members were dead, as well as a Golf-Pro Ninja, and Verity Bradley.  Grabbing Verity's tablet computer, the party quickly fled the scene in a stolen SUV and were pursued by a Bradley Initiative helicopter.  Gabriella drove the vehicle into the garage of a rental property, and the party took refuge until Verrenn could use a paralysis ray cypher to incapacitate the helicopter pilot, causing him to crash.  

Notable Moments

• At the start of the adventure I asked all of the players to describe what their characters were wearing.  Andy noted that Zamani was dressed in an outfit resembling a burka that one could purchase at Hot Topic (my words, his description).  When the party arrived in Deep Creek, I brought out the GM Intrusion.  Zamani had become obsessed with the concept of "bacon" and wandered over to a nearby McDonalds, finding himself in line for a breakfast sandwich.  I didn't realize that Zamani's social skills were spectacular, as the cat-man talked his way out of the restaurant with a full belly.

• After getting his food, Zamani was accosted by a townie outside the McDonalds.  The guy mistook Zamani for a foreigner, and followed him back to the Motel 23.  Zamani told the rest of the party that he had been followed, and the townies eventually knocked up for the group.  Somehow the discussion of "dragon hunting" was mentioned, and I decided to make these townies a bit interesting.  The two guys talked their way into the party's hotel room, and started setting up for something involving dragons.  The exact term "chasing the dragon" kept coming up, and there was a briefcase involved, so the players thought this was going to be some kind of drug operation.  They were all surprised when the one townie (Jeff) started handing out character sheets for a pickup game of Dragonlance.  The characters played D&D into the early hours of the morning with these two guys, and then they left.  

• After a game of D&D, why not some golf?  When the characters learned that the Bradley Cooperative had a base of operations at a local golf course, there was a lot of debate on whether or not to lead a daylight assault or a night mission.  The group voted for a daylight reconnaissance, including at least one round of golf.  If we had more time I would've allowed this to be role-played, but I kept with my original adventure design that the golf course only appeared to be in operation, and wasn't actually a working business.  

• During the combat scene there were three types of combatants:
• Bradley Operatives Masquerading as Golfers:  Level 4
• Titleist Hat Wearing Pro-Golf Ninja:  Level 6, Katana (6 Damage), 18 Health, 2 Armor
• Verity Bradley:  Level 7, 25 Health, Crippling Wu Tang Strike (8 damage, reduces opponent movement by one level for next round)

• The image of a golf pro ninja guy in a sword fight against Zamani was pretty wicked!  I really wish I could've had that scene captured on video somehow... maybe get it animated.  Cat-Monk versus Golf Ninja!

• The Pro-Golfer's sword was a Hattori Hanzo blade (from Kill Bill, obviously):  Level 5 Artifact, Heavy Weapon, 7 damage instead of 6, 1d20 depletion (on the roll of a 1 the blade needs to be resharpened, a difficulty 7 task).   He also had a golf club cypher with an explosive blast (Level 7).

• That paralyzing ray emitter cypher used by Verrenn on the helicopter pilot?  It was a putter!  The party found it in the golf pro shop and put it to good use.

Quotes

"Wait, are there wizards in DC now?" - Andy wasn't sure if he would translate into a wizard should he take his bracer of.

"I do not understand this ride.  Why am I moist?" - Marc as if he were Verrenn in Disneyland... because the party discussed going to Disneyland.

"We're all in trench coats.  Trench coats and hats."  -  Craig's outfit description.

"I already look like the Big Lebowski anyway.  I'm walking around in an arcane bathrobe." - Marc had the perfect gear.

"I'm here for bacon... I'm gonna get some!" - Zamani.

"So Andy is playing Zamani who is playing a girl in a burka who is playing Tasslehoff Burrfoot?" - Frank had a pretty accurate understanding of where this game was going.

"Do we go back to the Estate now and report that we won?" - Zamani thought that the D&D game was the entire purpose of the mission.

"The problem is that every single person playing golf may be a member of the Bradley Cooperative." - Frank, in a phrase I've never imagined hearing uttered in a game.

"Yeah, let's go play golf, that would be awesome." - Gabriella

"I'm assuming I couldn't carry a sword into a golf course." - Craig

"What strange form the dragon has taken!" - Verrenn describes a helicopter.

"I would hope to god that the police have better than a one hour response time for a helicopter machine-gunning a house." - Jeremy, after someone in the group figured that the local police couldn't get to the scene any sooner than the Estate.

"I think we drive away with the exploding thing behind us." - Andy