Eustace, Sarge, and Major are in KAZE. And there's a terrible Rat-Thing. People are dying and twists are building up. Can Eustace figure out why this is happening before falling into a trap? Probably not. Not really his style.
Previously, on The Four Generals
Maddy has a new look! Eustace is in town! There's a killer giant rat thing in a public access TV station! The mind boggles!
Content Warning: Language, Smoking, Violence [lots], Gambling, and a tinge of cosmic horror. I will also ignore history, technology, and common sense here or there but no slight is ever intended about the real history, people, or events referenced.
More info, attribution for the tools and materials used— including the splash art — can be found in the About & Credits, below.
The Four Generals Episode 2, Act 2: Awww, Rats!
[DESIGN] Episode-Specific Mythic Lists
Before I get into the second part of the session, wanted to go into book-keeping mode for a moment. Mythic lists tend to get a bit out of control with me. I end up with too many characters and plots and all that. It's just how I solo play.
By the "end" of this campaign, the idea is for that to be in my favor by making a lot of stuff clash together at once.
However, for these first few episodes as we are having something like situation-of-the-week world building — and where I am just having fun playing games and not thinking too hard — then having the full list doesn't quite work.
What I'm going to do is switch to "episode specific Mythic lists." They will all have "BigBetty bets against Major" which is always there. It can't be erased without some sort of twist, it can only get more...um, major. I'm going to separate out that [currently, mediocre] Assassins Are Targeting Major. That one might increase over time and may or may not get solved at the same time as the first.
To that, going to add these threads in play for this episode:
- Major and Myrrh have swapped places (badly?)
- Grant Tinburn has some object
- Mutant Rat Monsters Are at Kaze [Jan Willard?]
- Strange Markings on Ground Floor
- Someone's Watching (or wiping) James and Tony Johnson's old episodes
And right as I typed that, I realized they have the same last name...which seems significant. Fun coincidence. Especially since a random roll brough their tapes together which is now some sort of canon, probably.
For characters (besides Myrrh, LT, The Colonel, Clo, and Ida), we are going to get:
- Grant Tinburn
- Jan Willard
- Ruth Carter
- Tony Johnson
- James Johnson
At the end of this episode, we'll reconfigure survivors and unresolved elements into the master Threads/Characters lists.
Setting the Scene: Episode 2 | Act 2 | Scene 1.
Chaos Factor: 5
Expected Scene: Eustace, Sarge, and Major have to survive an attack by a giant rat monster in the lobby.
Scene Test: 7
Actual Scene: As expected.
- Is this the only rat monster? (50/50) >> 21 = Yes.
- Is it still mutating/growing? (50/50) >> 77 [we'll blend the random event in, in just a second] = No.
- Can it shoot spines? (50/50) >> 54 = No.
This means it needs to be a chunky threat right off the bat. Critical Attack with Critical Defense sounds good. 9 Hits. Hot Box on 2, 5, and 8. It will definitely flee once it hits that. This is going to be Walking Hazard and Hard to Kill. Physical fights with it are treated as Dangerous [will take Critical Damage if they fail to hit it] and it will take no damage after it gets to a Hot Box. It gets a bonus "will flee." This is sort of like four fights against strong-but-fragile enemies, all in one enemy.
The fourth fight will have it go berserk, explode, something.
NOW, let's take a look at the random event, which is somehow tied into the Rat-Thing's presence:
- Random Event, Action >> 02 = ACTION!
- {Ruth | Tony | James | Grant | Christopher Jones | Richard Harris} >> Richard Harris, the Janitor.
- For storyline purposes, all six of those, plus Jan, is somewhere in the building. Is anyone else? (Unlikely) >> 60 = No.
I'll start with an off-the-cuff scene with Richard Harris that takes place a couple of hours before the main scene, then go right into the main scene.
Sunday, August 16. 18:41. The Basement of KAZE.
Despite All My Rage...
Earlier.
Itchy Harris does not want to be in the basement. He does not particularly want to be anywhere. Maybe on screen. He feels like he might have the face for television. TV would be lucky to have his face. Telling the truth. Speaking from the heart to the heart. That might make a great name for his show. If he ever got one. He snoops a bit upstairs, here or there. Given a chance.
Imagining his face on the TV in the lobby. Itchy Harris with his own show.
"Yah, face for TV and personality for the trashbin!," he says to himself, in falsetto. Quoting his mom. Not a direct quote. She actually said he was a pretty boy but needed to work on his attitude. He figures the world needs to work on its attitude.
He still doesn't know why the chaplain didn't report him. A literal turn the other cheek Christian, maybe. Felt good mocking Jesus while punching the old man. Man was soft like old Raisin Bran in the milk too long.
Itchy's down here because Chris said something was going on with the signal. Power was dropping. "I sure to fuck hope it ain't rats chewing through lines," Chris had said, fiddling with a stack of old masters, "Itchy, be a sweet and give it a look-see. Let me know if we need to call the boss out."
The masters were requested by Jan, Chris had said. Jan Willard. "Yan Villar" in his strange New England, put-upon Dutch-inflected accent. Yannie-boy doesn't have a face for TV. Nor his rats. Upstairs right now letting them play games while the feed glitches out and fizzes.
Only...well...Itchy has the feeling he's already seen those games. Like Yannie might be copying himself. Why the hell he want tapes of Tony and his...
- {son | nephew | grandson | cousin} >> 1 = Son.
...boy. Jimmy. The fitness freak zen douche? Itchy don't have time for most religions, but sure ain't going to be sipping chia seeds and talking about chakras. Even in some ladies fill out yoga pants nicely.
Whole cast and crew party tonight. Sunday runs skeleton shift with front desk filling in for production with a small team up stairs but you still got Sheila and Sue doing double duties and "Jack the Jackal" running cameras. Just Tony is with Jimmy. Ruth's car was in the parking lot. Not young-and-hot Ruth. No, the one that looks like she thinks french vanilla candles are the height of civilization. Weird-ass Grant is in early for some reason. Messing up Itchy's quiet time, the sorry lot of them.
Ha, whoops. Just occurred to me that the station would have a few other people running cameras and such. We'll introduce them as we need but I just jammed out a few names off the top of my head.
Itchy stops and says, "What the fuck?" In his own voice this time. A deep sort of phlegmy voice like he chain smokes through allergies. Former yes, but latter no. He always felt allergies were for pussies. People who didn't know how to tell their immune system when the piss off.
He's past the storage bins and big open space that used to be a parking garage when this building was meant for Uncle Sam's finest postmen to gather mail. Now just an unused area full of parking lines. With a door at the back that goes down to the second level. Where the wiring and servers are stored.
Only, the hallway to the stairs is empty proper.
There's a sleeping bag there. Some extension cords.
- Is it Jan that is sleeping there? (50/50) >> 81 = No.
And good Lord does it smell (he thinks "good Lord" but does not catch the irony of him bring Jesus into his own mental stream). Not so much a sleeping bag. Like a place where some animal might shack up. What kind of animal needs extension cords, though?
Then he sees it. Coming through the darkness at the top of the stairwell. A face only a mama could love and mostly if that mama was drunk.
Teeth and eyes and claws.
As it steps fully in the light, Itchy gets his heavy flashlight up.
"Alright, ye fucker. You got me with that mask..."
Then it charges and he feels more panic than he has ever felt.
- Does Richard "Itchy" Harris survive this? (Unlikely) >> 46 = No.
The good news is that the panic does not last very long. Not very long, indeed.
Sunday, August 16. 21:25. KAZE lobby.
...I'm Still Just a Rat in the KAZE
"Ok, Eustace, let's see you handle this shit!," Sarge shouts in what he hopes is an encouraging tone despite his feeling absolutely fucking terrified.
"Um," Eustace says, in a voice that does not make Sarge feeling anything like justified. "I mean, what would you like me to do."
The strange "rat creature" — really somewhere between a great ape, a boar, a rat, and whatever the hell kind of animal has spines like that growing out of its lower back — has been slowly coming forward. Huge, rat teeth dripping blood. It keeps casting its eyes between the three of them and the fact that Eustace is behind the counter, Sarge is right in front of it, and Major is over nearer the door is probably what is saving them. Whichever one it charges, the other two will be able to flank it.
The spines straighten out and harden. It has almost made up its mind.
"I would like you to take care of the sweet little rattikins. Isn't this your job? Fighting shit like this!" Oops, there it goes. Sarge can hear the panic dripping in. The shrillness.
"Usually I let people like you and the oh-so-capable Ms. Dwyer do the actual fighting. I'm not particularly good at it."
Sarge, not thinking it through, takes his eyes off the creature to look at Eustace. "Not particularly good at it...? The hell, man, I thought..."
Then the thing attacks.
Based on story reasons, Sarge is going to start at a Reaction phase. However, we'll give Major a shot at -2 since she was less distracted by Eustace chatter.
- MAJOR: (Nerves) 3 + (Shoot) 2 - (Speed of Attack) 2 with no Feats vs Critical >> No hits.
- SARGE, Reaction: Using his Counter. (Brawn) 3 + (Fight) 3 vs Dangerous Critical but we'll give him his Martial Artist Feat >> -1 ADR, Double Critical.
Didn't even require the Free ReRoll. Sarge just is really good at fighting. It is to its first Hot Box and will be fleeing the scene as something like a freebie because of story.
Eustace lets out a "oosh" sound and grabs one of the tapes on the counter like he might throw it. A loud bang cuts through the lobby as Major tries to take aim but misses.
This leaves only Sarge and the human-sized rat creature plowing towards him. The gun is right there but in the moment his boxing instincts kick in and he instead rolls into the attack and then punches up at the creature as he twists back.
The rat-thing's large teeth clack together with a crunch as it goes up and over Sarge's body and slams into the floor.
It is up almost immediately but before anyone can react has run off, and disappeared down a side door in the opposite direction from which it came.
Sarge goes to follow and...
- Finds a hole in the wall? (Likely) >> 19 = Yes.
...finds a large hole in the wall where the creature has chewed through and clawed its way into the foundation of the building.
An open check to see if Eustace notices the name similarities on the tape...
- (Focus) 3 + (Know) 3 >> Critical.
As Sarge returns to the main lobby, Eustace lobs the tape in his hand and then another. Sarge catches them easily. "What's this?"
"The tapes. J Johnson and T Johnson. I noticed the names on the schedule but the fact that both are together feels like absolutely not a coincidence."
Eustace picks up the phone on the desk and hits a few buttons...
- Is the phone out? (Very Likely) >> 80 = No, actually.
...and gets a dial tone just fine. Then stops.
"The phone is working. Yet no one called the cops? Or they did..."
"...and the cops didn't answer," Major says, catching the thread.
"Hmmm," is Eustace's only response, looking around.
"Ok, you two," Sarge says, "Change of plan, we get out of here and get backup." He starts for the doors.
"WAIT!," Eustace shouts, shuffling out from behind the lobby desk.
"What now?"
"The markings on the door. What if they are here to keep the creature in?"
He goes over and starts investigating them.
This is going to be extreme but I'll give Eustace +1 since he has experience with the weird and +1 because he has Ellie's invention.
- (Focus) 3 + (Know) 3 + (Device) 1 + (Experience) 1 >> Critical + Basic = Failure, but he has some ideas.
- I need a nonsense-ish word, so Meaning Tables, Names: 94 Wah + 42 Je + 54 "Military"...hmm...Sir? Wajeesir. Meaning Tables, Visions and Dreams: 15 Creepy 27 Environment.
"Sorry, these are new to me. They look closely connected to Creeping Hallway of Wajeezer but not the same."
"Eustace!," Sarge snaps.
"Ah, Creeping Hallway is a spell that traps people inside of a house and causes all the creatures inside — rats, spiders, even molds — to then stalk the people. This isn't it, though. Just...something like it."
Major, hearing this, reaches over and tries to open the door...
- Does the door open? (50/50) >> 68 = Noooo.
...and the door refuses to budge.
"Shit and damnations. Wajeezer is Class 11 magic on the Triant Scale. Modified Wajeezer is something higher. No wonder the phone works. Probably makes the people on the other side just hear static or some shit."
"Who the hell is doing this?"
"Grant maybe. Maybe he was close to getting out some major eldritch artifact and someone inside stopped him so he summoned that creature."
Major stops listening to the two men and starts towards the elevator.
"Come on, you apes, do you want to live forever?"
Setting the Scene: Episode 2 | Act 2 | Scene 2.
Chaos Factor: 5 (-1)
Expected Scene: They ride the elevator to the third floor and find death in some form.
Scene Test: 2, Interrupt. 61, Move Away from a Thread: Grant Tinburn has some object.
Grant is {in the elevator | on the third floor} >> on the third floor.
Actual Scene: While they will find death, it will start out focusing on Grant in a flash back. This 100% has nothing to do with Grant.
Sunday, August 16. 19:10. Third Floor of KAZE
The Best Laid Schemes o' Mice an' Man...
Grant Tinburn is early but then he often is. He likes to show up in the studio hours before his short, weekly broadcast because he likes to get here in the dark. Sheila and Jack are downstairs, working with the others. He can just be by himself, chewing on the truth.
Sure, sure...he plays at it a bit. He exaggerates and uses hyperbole. It's fun! Not lying. Never lying. Just telling the story about reality like its a fun night-time tale. A goodnight story to the city of Las Azaleas. All the truths that people believe in, have faith in: those are a fiction reinforced by countless movies and shows and books.
Grant's version. The real real version: it's something worse. Scarier. Less human. So he spices it up. "A little bit of medicine makes the sugar go down!," he sings to himself. A version of the song favored by Dr. Lamark. A practical man who looked beyond simple rules.
Only it wasn't his cousin Jeff who found proof. It was Grant. And it hurt, so much. Three therapists. A failed relationship with a beautiful man. Ostracized by his siblings. Here, though, in the desert: he finds some solace. He speaks. He elaborates. He paints with words. And folks listen. Some laugh, sure. Some think it is a game.
That's fine.
As long as he warns.
He holds the bag containing [something word]. Which is so strange. He knows the name of it. Knows it. But trying to think about it, he almost immediately forgets after touching upon it. Like it dances away.
Tonight is the night. He just wants to show it off. No harm in that. It looks weird enough. Heck, it is hard to look at it for long. He wants them to see. His friends out there. His enemies.
Jules. Beautiful Jules. Back in Orlando. Maybe Jules will find out about it on the internet.
As he turns the corner he nearly bumps into...
- It's Jan behind all this right? (Likely) >> 57 = Yes.
...Jan Willard. Which is weird. Shouldn't Jan's show just be wrapping up? Usually at this time he is downstairs in Studio C getting all his rat buddies back into their travel cages.
"Jan?," Grant asks, before noticing the knife. And with it, the pain.
- Does Grant survive? (Very Unlikely, at least for long) >> 18 = Yes, at least until he is found, later.
Sunday, August 16. 21:35. Third Floor of KAZE
...Gang Aft Agley
Sarge sees the body first but it is Eustace who gets to it.
"Grant?!"
The man is covered in blood and has curled into a fetal position down the hall from the elevator.
- Is the object on him? (50/50) >> 80 = No.
"Did the rat-thing get him, too?," Major asks, gun already out and aimed down the hall where the blood streaks track as Grant was trying to crawl back.
- Eustace: (Focus) 3 + (Heal) 2 >> Just a Basic = he gets some details, but nothing too precise.
"Doesn't look like teeth marks or anything similar. Maybe the spines? Grant!"
The bloodied man, Grant Tinburn starts. He has lost a lot of blood and is very nearly gone. He reaches up and grabs the person over here, tries and pulls him down.
Eustace allows it.
"He...Jan...took it. The...[somethingword]. Please..."
Then Grant Tinburn is dead.
"What did he say?," Sarge asks.
"Something about...one? Juan...
- (Focus) 3 + (Know) 3 + (Eustace knows horror movies) 1 >> 3 x Basic = 1 x Critical.
...JAN! Jan Willard? Come on!"
"What?!"
"Willard...of the rats. Jesus Christ."
"What are we talking about, Eustace?"
"Jan Willard has taken the...," Eustace tries to think of the word that Grant used, but there's a gap in his memory from just hearing it..., "you know...the thing!"
Eustace stands up and starts heading back to the elevator.
"We have to find out where Jan Willard is, and why he wanted tapes about two men with the same last name, and why Grant's special object was taken."
Setting the Scene: Episode 2 | Act 2 | Scene 3.
Chaos Factor: 5
Expected Scene: After heading down to find out where Jan's studio is...they are heading to the second floor.
Scene Test: 10
Actual Scene: Amazingly, as expected [though note this triggers something special *wink*]
Ok, this one can be kind of simple. I just need to find maybe a corpse or a living person and go from there.
- {Tony | Jimmy | Sheila | Jack | Chris | Ruth} >> 1 = Tony.
- Who is {Alive | Alive but Injured | Dead | Dead and Mutilated} >> 1 = Alive.
- Tony is {Meaning Tables, Action} >> 83 Start 28 Expectation + 88 Support 77 Prison.
Ummm. Ok, so Tony is going to play a part, but he's actually somehow working with Jan on this. He's going to try and walk the others into a trap.
Sunday, August 16. 22:07. Second Floor of KAZE
The Rat Trap
On the way to the second floor, looking for Studio C, Eustace had felt the need to point out the poster on the elevator wall.
"Three years. Highest rated show. Always pregnant. I mean, I think. Maybe they just film a lot of episodes at once. Still, the number of photos of her expecting a child are immense. She's one of the best known celebrities in town. Why aren't people talking about this?"
"Eu, sweetie, is it really important?," Major had asked.
"I don't know. It's just cool. I'd like to chat with her if I have time."
"And," Sarge had cut in, not sure if he was frustrated or simply deeply confused now that his adrenaline is wearing thin, "I hope you get what you want, buddy."
"Awww, he called me buddy."
Sarge did not punch the wall and he felt proud of himself for that.
The second floor was much like the third, but different in two ways. It was darker with several lights not working. It also had trash and broken furniture scattered on the hall.
The main way it was similar was, at a glance, there was blood on the floor. And walls. What looks like a person's hand.
KAZE is decorating for Halloween early this year.
They got past Studios A and B and were approaching the double doors leading to Studio C when a man jumped out at them and flagged them down. Miraculously, neither Sarge nor Major shot him.
"Who the fuck are you people?," the man is currently asking.
"I'm Eustace Delmont and I'm here to figure out why a rat-thing is killing people. This is Sarge. This is Major. We're the good guys. You are..."
"You have to get the fuck out of here!"
"We...can't. Doors locked." Eustace gives a brief rundown but leaves out the trip to the third floor.
In exchange, the man says he is Tony and that a crazy man in a rat costume has taken Sheila, Jack, and his son Jimmy hostage. No, no. Not Studio C. They are in the special effects lab at the end of the hall, past Studio D. He was on his way when he heard them approaching.
Going to see if Eustace detects the lie but leave it kind of open for now.
- (Smooth) 2 + (Detect) 3 vs Critical >> Whiff! Ok, spending his Adrenaline to make this his ReRoll for the session. Double Whiff!
"You heard the man, let's go find out what Willard is up to!"
"Wait, Willard. Jan. What does he have to do with it?"
"I'll explain when we get there, no time to lose."
It is only when they are stepping into the special effects computer lab, when they see a pair of women holding on to a dead man, and when they hear Tony's gun cock from behind them that they realize they have been had.
"Jan isn't going to like this, I should you kill you now, but I need to know that Jimmy is safe and you guys will make excellent rat bait."
Setting the Scene: Episode 2 | Act 2 | Scene 4.
This is a brief set-up scene for something happening across town, as it were. Back in the Opal. We have triggered a group of mediocre hitmen. For now, they will be at the Opal. Just to bring the others in.
Sunday, August 16. 22:10. Across town, at The Opal, near the Roulette Tables.
Bastards Show Up
The three men — Olli, Sparrow, and Shark — look a bit weird compared to the regular guests at the Opal but then there are a lot of weirdos at Las Azaleas. They should know. They are local.
Their boss, Zander, tipped them off to this one. Handed them a couple of hasty print outs gotten from some online forum called TakeTheBlack where people share this kind of information. They are to find a woman with blond hair who has been spotted with a trio of men. Apparently she is worth a lot of money if she's dead. Zander has bet a lot of money on it, including some of their own cash.
They could have gotten pissy, but getting pissy with Zander is a terminal illness. Same reason they didn't ask him why he didn't just come himself.
Ollie knows the answer: it's win-win for him. Either they pull this off and everyone makes bank or they get busted and Zander has their money on the line. They would be stupid to try and rat out the boss. Wouldn't see the world outside the Las Az jail ever again.
They spot the men first. Two of them. No amount of looking has found the third.
And with them is...well, a woman. Blond. Sure. Been smoking constantly. That's on the sheet. Dressed like she smells like stale pot. That matches.
Has the high-bitch air of a senator's daughter. Sure.
Could be her. The damned photo is inky and blurred.
If not her, well, maybe she knows where the other is.
The trio are hanging out and laughing and playing roulette. Seem to be winning good. Nice. Ollie just has to wait for them to cash out and then that's more money for the pocket books.
Follow them to their room, to her room, and then it's smooth sailing.
Doug's Commentary
This one was a lot of fun to play out and hopefully sets up next time for a bit of the old hyper-violence. More fights with the Rat-Thing. Figuring out what the hell is going on. I love that I don't know. Dice are being weird with it and that's nice. Tony (and Jimmy?) as an accomplice? The object maybe being important? Fun times.
I have no idea why my quick toss out of the ever-pregnant-woman keeps showing up. Just the sort of oddity that could be part of The Weird or something else.
This one has been more about trusting the process than I sometimes allow myself to do. Won't always work. In this case, it has worked ok. We'll see how it starts wrapping up on Wednesday and go from there.
About The Four Generals
BigBetty.com has placed a bet on Maddy Dwyer's life. People stand to make millions if she is dead within the next two weeks. Maddy's dad, Thomas "Cap" Dwyer has asked three old friends to travel to Las Azaleas and protect his daughter. The group went as The Four Generals in high school but have long since gone their separate ways. Now, the three friends — and Maddy, calling herself Major — have reformed The Four Generals. Their task: to keep Maddy alive. Also, some cults and crazy mega-church leaders are involved.
Credits
The Four Generals is played using Outgunned. Mythic, Gamemaster's Apprentice: Base 2e, and Gamemaster's Apprentice: Weird Horror are used as game oracles. Other tools have been added in.
Art is modified from stock photos and images by myself from various sources, given below. GIMP + G'MIC are used to create the effects. Unsplash is the most common source of stock art.
References to source materials use the following codes [BOLD = Main Sources for campaign]:
- {BRTM} Book of Random Tables: Modern
- {BRTN} Book of Random Tables: 1980s - 1990s
- {GMAB} Gamemaster's Apprentice: Base 2e Deck
- {GMAWH} Gamemaster's Apprentice: Weird Horror Deck
- {MM} "Maidenstead Mysteries" [Tricube Tales] Image Oracle
- {MY} Mythic, 2nd Edition
- {OG} Outgunned
- {OGAD} Outgunned Assistant Director
- {RR} Random Realities
- {TBM} Table Fables, Modern
- {UNE} Universal NPC Emulator
When page or card numbers are given, they will be in the {curly brackets}. {RR1,6} = Random Realities for die roll 1,6.
Part of the Alabama Weird world, though not geographically located in Alabama.
This post is in the standard Doug Alone post style. See Anatomy of a Post for more details.
ART CREDIT AND EXPLANATION
KAZE Basement is from a photo by Oleksandr Chernobai on Unsplash.
The Rat-Thing (vista 1) is from a photo by Getty Images via Unsplash+. It's actually, and slightly obviously, a boar but I figured the best way to show it in the style of these posts was to take various "inspo animals" — boar, porcupine, ape, and of course rat — and take snippets of them out of context.
KAZE third floor is from a photo by Leiada Krözjhen on Unsplash.
The "blood splatter" is photo of red ink by Nick Fancher via Unsplash+. I've used Fancher's photography several times on the blog and this one came in handy because I was a bit cautious about searching for actual footage of...you know...blood and stab wounds and the like. Even on a stock art site.
The second floor of KAZE is from a photo by Stefan Cosma on Unsplash.
It is highly modified from the original and glitched out quite a bit, but the partial source of this one is a photo by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash.
The Opal's Roulette table comes from a photo by Ben Iwara via Unsplash+.