The Fall – Ep02
There was a question on my last AP report about what Oracle system I use. I went with my usual Recluse basis that I hacked. I always found that the 1-in-6 chance of a False Presupposition to occur was a tad bit high. I could reduce this to 1-in-10 by using d10 instead of d6 in Recluse, but I also found that I was missing the Interventions/Random Events mechanic from other game engines. So instead, I went with something simpler. Whenever I rolled doubles on my Recluse d6s, I’d consult the following chart:
1: False Presupposition
2: Intervention (MUNE)
3: Random Event (Mythic)
4: Random Event (Mythic)
5: Intervention (MUNE)
6: False Presupposition
Also if for any reason the question asked that gave the special result, needed a Yes/No answer, then it’s a No for Odds and Yes for Evens.
That’s the core engine that I was using. Of course other tools from the above, and other engines I’ll be using as I deem necessary, such as the Detail Check from Mythic Variations 2, or the TWENE from MUNE, and of course BOLD and UNE.
So back to the adventure. We left Kedric, Drake and a bitten Felicia at the ground floor of The Ark Vacation Inn planning to get out and reach the Ark Town PD in case there are any emergency services to help them. Kedric of course wants to continue from there to get to his home where his children were being babysitted by his grandparents. The front street from the hotel entrance is filled with the Plagued, and they decided they’ll use the rear exits from the restaurant and kitchen that are normally used by the hotel’s service staff.
To populate some discussions between the group, I’ll use the connections mechanic from BOLD.
| action | gerund | subject |
|---|---|---|
| ponder | enjoying | friends or family |
| muse | detailing | an attribute |
| demand | detailing | a posession |
The group moves stealthily into the restaurant.
Kedric: Stealth: (1,3): Failure
Q: Are there any Plagued in the restaurant?
A: No, but, they can hear them in the kitchen.
The floor of the restaurant is littered with cutlery and broken glassware, and despite their best efforts to move silently, the group makes noise as they try to walk around the various tables. As they get closer to the kitchen, they hear the weird sounds the crazed people make. Drake puts his fingertip on his lips to make a silence gesture to Kedric, who nods, while Felicia whinces in pain a few steps back. They fall on all fours and enter the kitchen.
Kedric: Stealth: (1,5): Success
Their heads and their backs down, they walk on all fours, without making a sound. The swinging doors move behind them but, they don’t bump into anything, and a sigh of relief escapes the trio. The prey avoids the predator and they reach the other side of the kitchen, near exit.
Q: Is the way to the exit blocked?
A: No
As fast as they can, when the crazed are on the other side of the kitchen, the trio exchanges glances, and Drake lifts his hand just enough to grab the outward bar handle. The door opens, and they crawl outside.
Q: Are there any Plagued on the back alley?
A: Yes
Q: How many?
A: Very Few. It’s just one.
Kedric: Stealth: (10,5): Success with a Raise.
At the far end of the alley, they see one of the crazed. They hit the wall and crouch away using the alley dumpsters as cover. The screams and animalistic sounds the crazed make echo through the streets.
Q: What is the main street like?
A: Favors PC
The street currently is empty of any of the crazed mob. The fight on the other end of the hotel seems to have drawn them away from the side street, and they have dispersed in a different direction.
Overturned cars and trash bins provide ample cover for the group to move around without being seen. Heading West, they cover the distance of the first block as quickly as they can without making any noise. They are now on the main street, with the PD only two blocks away to the North.
Q: Are there any crazed to the North?
A: No
They walk slowly to the next crossroads, and they can see the PD in the distance.
Kedric: Notice: (2,13): Success with 2 Raises.
Q: What state is the PD in?
A: Favors NPC, (Drake/Felicia/Plagued): Felicia. So there must be availability of medical supplies, either through ease of access in the PD or perhaps an ambulance right on the outside.
Q: Is there an ambulance outside the PD?
A: No
Destroyed police cars and barricades block the way to the police department, but there’s a clear passage through. Blood, entrails and corpses litter the scene, as the law enforcement must have put up a fight against the crazed mob. This looks very disheartening, however they can also see there’s a clear passageway inside. The secure glass doors have been smashed down, so if there’s any chance for medical supplies or firearms, that’s it.
Ponder detailing a possession
Kedric looks around the cruisers, and grabs a couple more ammo clips, and several bullets for a .38 revolver he found and hands it over to Drake. “I know that these things are loud. But, I’ve thought about, and if worse comes to worst, it’s the only chance we’ll get.”
“Do you think guns would save us if they haven’t saved them?” Drake counters, but reluctantly takes the gun.
“Can we go inside please? I need something for my leg.” Felicia changes the subject of the conversation.
Demand detailing friends and family
“I don’t think I can risk getting trapped inside there. I’ll wait for you outside make sure there’s nothing coming after us. Drake can help you get any medical assistance inside. Then you’ll help me reach my home. Get to my family.” Kedrick says sternly.
Q: Does Drake agree?
A: Yes
Drake nods. “Sure. She may be lame and slow us down, but you came here with us. We’ll come with you to your home. Strength in number and all that stuff. Just make sure noone follows us inside.”
Kedric: Stealth (1,1): Snake Eyes
That’s a critical failure.
Felicia and Drake enter the building, while Kedrick looks around for movement. He’s been waiting only for a few moments, but he feels too exposed. He thinks he saw movement down the road. Wanting to hide better, on a whime he chooses to enter one of the police cruisers. But he didn’t think it clearly. The moment he closes the door behind him, the car alarm starts blaring. He sees figures running down the street, and can listen to loud growling screams approaching.
Q: Is he on the front seat?
A: Yes, and he’s on the driver’s seat.
Q: Are there any keys on the ignition?
A: No
Adrenaline rushes. Frantically Kedrick looks at the ignition for any pair of keys that might help him start the car or shut down the alarm.
Q: Is there any officer corpse nearby? (Likely)
A: No, and only bloodied remains are nearby.
Kedric: Notice (1,2): Failure
Kedric looks outside in the hope that one of the bodies he saw belongs to the driver, but he didn’t see any uniform. He starts to search the front seats frantically for any keys, but in his hurry he doesn’t find any keys, and the screams come closer. He needs to bail. But Drake and Felicia are still inside. A dilemma appears. Should he go back in to warn them, or make a run for his home. The time to decide is now.
I like how Kedrick is in this predicament. These are important choices. The ethically right thing to do is try to reach Felicia and Drake. I went back to my previous session and read Kedrick’s randomly rolled background. He values family and power. He’s lost already two persons close to him (his teenage years crush and his wife) and he’s not going to risk his objective to see his kids again for some strangers. It’s most likely that he’ll bail. But nevertheless, I’ll ask the Oracle.
Q: Does Kedrick bail the scene to find his children? (likely)
A: Yes
Q: Do Drake and Felicia get out before he fled?
A: False Presupposition. It’s impossible to flee. The swarms of the Plagued are all around already.
Kedrick decides to abandon Drake and Felicia and head for his home. He gets out of the car, and walks no more than 10 steps, when he sees a mob running at top speed towards him. He turns the other way, and sees another mob coming from the south. Without wasting any more time, he runs inside the building.
“Drake!? Felicia!?” He yells quickly see if he can rendezvou with them.
Q: Do Drake and Felicia listen to him?
A: Yes, and he finds them in the first aid room.
Q: Is Felicia bandaged?
A: No
Drake appears out of a room, as Kedrick runs inside and gestures him to come.
“What’s wrong, we’ve just found the medical supplies closet, and were about help Felicia.” Drake asks.
“There’s no time. A car alarm went off and they’re coming for us. Is there any other way out of here?” Kedric says, his breath short.
Drake scans the walls for the escape plan of the building.
Q: Is there a secondary exit?
A: Yes
Q: What does the exit look like?
A: Happiness
He finds the layout of the escape plan. “Seems like there is a way out several corridors to the east. We’ll get past the armoury and evidence, and to the end of the hallway, there should be another exit.”
Kedric’s mind for a moment raced back to the evidence room. That’s where he had met the love of his life, the mother of his children. He was working a case when he found evidence that might be tied to an ongoing case police may be involved. A slight smile forced itself on his face.
“I realize, that sounds like good news” Drake said, looking at him “but it feels idiotic considering our situation.”
“…I… have memories of this place.” Kedric replied, returning to reality. “If there’s a chance that evidence or armory are unlocked, perhaps we should resupply.”
Kedric: Stealth: (1,3): Failure
Q: Are there any plagued in the building?
A: False Presupposition. The plagued come rushing in from outside.
Q: How many?
A: Only one.
The group tries to move stealthily, but they’re too shaken to coordinate, and their footsteps echo in the empty hallways. A screaming crazed woman comes rushing in from the main entrance. She sees them and charges.
Chase
1st Round
Kedric: 3,3: Failure
Drake: 1: Failure
Felicia: 2: Failure
Plagued: 3: Failure
2nd Round
Kedric: 4,2: Success, 3 Diamonds, Long range
Drake: 2: Failure
Felicia: 3: Failure
Plagued: 6: Success, 5 Hearts, Long range
Kedrick: Shoot (13,17)-4: Success++Raise: Hit: 9/6: Shaken
Plagued: Vigor: 2+4: Success
3rd Round
Kedric: 3,3: Failure
Drake: 2: Failure
Felicia: 2: Failure
Plagued: 6: Success, 4 Hearts, Long range
4th Round
Kedric: 2,10: Success+Raise, 6 Hearts, Q Spades
Drake: 4: Success, 8 Clubs, Major Obstacle, 3-2: Failure: Bumps & Bruises, Fatigued
Felicia: 2: Failure
Plagued: 7: Success, 8 Spades, Long range
Kedrick: Shoot (4,3)-2: Miss
5th Round
Kedric: 1,1: Snake Eyes: He drops his handgun
Drake: 3: Failure
Felicia: 3: Failure
Plagued: 7: Success, 7 Hearts, Long range
The group runs through the hallway as fast as they can, with the infected behind them. At one point Kedric gains an opening and shoots at the crazed woman. The shot hits her at the guts, but doesn’t stop her at all, she keeps running after them and closes at several meters away.
Kedric shoots once more, but misses. Drake bumps onto a trolley of archived papers, and stumbles and falls. Bruised he picks himself up and continues to flee.
As they make a quick turn to the end of the hallway, Kedric goes for another shot, but he steps on a pool of blood and loses his balance. As he tries to regain his balance, he loses the grip of his handgun, and it drops several meters back towards their pursuer.
They’ve reached the exit, but he must choose to flee or fight for his sidearm.
Q: Is the exit free of any obstruction?
A: Yes, but it’s one of those push out exits, so their pursuer will continue.
Drake opens the escape door, and sees the indecision in Kedrick’s eyes. “Come one man, forget about it, let’s go!”
Kedrick looks for any weapon nearby.
Kedrick: Notice: (2,3): Failure
Q: Does Drake grab him out?
A: No, and he pushes him towards the plagued.
“Fuck it, idiot!” Drake screams and pushes Kedrick to the plagued, to gain some momentum.
He and Felicia flee outside.
Combat
Kedrick will need to at least Shake the Plagued to get an opening to run away.
1st Round
Kedrick: 6 Clubs
Plagued: 10 Spades
Plagued: Fighting: 1+2: 3/4: Miss
Kedric: Fighting: (1,3)/3: Hit: 1/6: Nothing
2nd Round
Kedrick: J Clubs
Plagued: 6 Spades
Kedric: Fighting: (2,3)/3: Hit: 5/6: Nothing
Plagued: Fighting: 5+2: 7/4: Hit: 7/6: Hit: Shaken
3rd Round
Kedrick: 6 Diamonds
Plagued: 9 Clubs
Plagued: Fighting: 5+2: 7/4: Hit: 3/6: Nothing
Kedrick: Spend Benny (1/3) no longer Shaken
Kedrick: Fighting: (5,4)/5: Hit: 5/6: Nothing
4th Round
Kedrick: 8 Diamonds
Plagued: J Hearts
Plagued: Fighting: 3+2: 5/4: Hit: 6/6: Shaken
Kedrick: Vigor: (2,15): Success with Raise: Fighting: (5,3)/3: Hit: 9/6: Shaken
5th Round
Kedrick: A Clubs
Plagued: 2 Clubs
Kedrick Runs Away: 8+9= 17 meters
Plagued Runs: 6+5= 11 meters
Kedrick pushes the crazed woman away as she tries to bite and claw at him. He get punched once on his shoulder, but eventually he manages to land a solid hit, enough to startle her, and he runs away with her at his heel, a few meters behind.
Q: Was his opening to the streets through the exit? (Likely)
A: False Presupposition. Plagued have appeared outside, seems they heard the shots, so he runs back inside the building.
Q: Can he grab the pistol? (Likely)
A: No. It’s under the trolley, so he’ll lose precious time.
As he’s about to exit through the door, he sees a mob appearing on the outside, so he turns through the hallway back into the offices. His pistol under the trolley that Drake overturned, so he doesn’t waste any time to grab it.
Q: Does the armory look open?
A: Yes
Kedrick Run: 8+2= 10 meters
Plagued: 6+5= 11 meters
Q: Can he close the door behind him? (Likely)
A: Yes
Kedrick runs inside the armory which was unlocked in the chaos, and closes the door behind him.
Q: What does the armory look like?
A: Focus Thread
The armory is a mess. Weapons and ammo taken from the shelves and racks in a hasty manner.
Kedrick sits down behind the bench so that he isn’t visible anymore, as the crazed woman charges towards the room.
Plagued: Notice: 1: Failure.
She rattles the barred door and the barred opening for a few minutes. Kedrick can hear her growl, and a weird sensation as if she’s sniffing the air. Then after a short while he listens to footsteps running away, joining more footsteps. He feels safe for now. His heart is pumping. He needs to be careful. He decides to look around for any firearms that he can carry, and when things have settled down a bit, to continue his attempt to go home.
Q: How many firearms are available?
A: 6: SMG, AR, 2 Pistols, 2 Shotguns.
He searches through the room and finds 2 Glocks, an MP5, 2 Pump Action Shotguns, and an M-16. He arms himself with the MP5 and the two Glocks, and several clips.
Q: Is there any kevlar vest also in the armory?
A: Intervention: 6: Wild: Gratify Evil
‘I was stuck at this point for too long. How should I interpret this? I even paused the game and let time pass by in case an inspiration will come to me in the meantime. It didn’t. I eventually sit down again to resume my session, several days later, only to give an interpretation that will move the game forward.’
As Kedrick searches the around the room, looking for any armour to wear, he notices a pool of blood at the corner. He approaches with caution, and sees a dead officer wearing a kevlar vest. His neck bitten off, and blood running down. Kedric realizes that the poor sod must have been attacked by the crazed mob some time ago. He lets his guard down, and then what he witnesses shakes him. The corpse opens its eyes and stares right at him, and lets off a loud growl. Kedrick screams.
Fear: Kedrick: Vigor (10,3): Success with a Raise
Zombies? Kedrick quickly realizes, recollecting all the movies and tv shows he’s seen as a kid. For real? He thinks. He doesn’t waste a second more, and turns his Glock at the undead.
Combat
1st Round
Kedrick: 8 Spades
Lifeless: 2 Diamons
Kedric: Shooting: (5,4): Hit: 12-5=7: Guts: 7-4=3: Shaken
Lifeless: Shaken: Spirit: 2+2=4: Success: No longer Shaken
2nd Round
Kedrick: 10 Diamonds
Lifeless: K Spades
Lifeless: Fighting: 2: Miss
Kedric: Shooting: (1,3): Miss
3rd Round
Kedrick: K Diamonds
Lifeless: 10 Spades
Kedric: Shooting: (11,5): Hit with Raise: 9-5=4: Arm: Wounded
Lifeless: Shaken: Spirit: 2+2=4: Success: No longer Shaken
4th Round
Kedrick: 9 Clubs
Lifeless: Joker
Lifeless: Fighting: 1+2=3: Miss
Kedric: Shooting: (3,2): Miss
5th Round
Kedrick: 5 Diamonds
Lifeless: 9 Hearts
Lifeless: Fighting: 5: Hit: 3: Left Arm: 3-6: No damage
Kedric: Shooting: Double Tap: (5,4)+1: Hit: 7: Guts: 9+1-5-4=1: Shaken
6th Round
Kedrick: Q Spades
Lifeless: A Diamonds
Lifeless: Shaken: Spirit: 1+2=3: Failure: Remains Shaken
Kedric: Shooting: Double Tap: (11,1)+1: Hit with Raise: 9: Guts: 14+1-5-4=6: Wounded: Eliminated
With no consideration if he’s going to be heard, Kedric shoots at the zombie. The first shot is at the torso, and the Kevlar dissipates the blow. The force of the blow sends the zombie back. It regains its momentum and tries to claw at Kedric who avoids the blow, but his rebound shots miss the mark. Then he attempts one more shot, which finds its mark, wounding it’s arm. The fight continues, until Kedrick starts pulling the trigger faster, double tapping at the zombie twice. He hits the kevlar again, sending it back, and with the next hit, it drops, inanimate.
Realizing that this is the zombie apocalypse, Kedric knows he can’t dally any longer. With his weapons at the ready, he switches to the MP5, and runs back down the corridor, to the initial exit, see if he can get to his family.
Session Summary
For some reason I had this AP finished for over a month and a half and hadn’t gotten to posting it. Summer time with heat waves can be detrimental to productivity.
At the end of this session I came to the realisation that my concerns about the pulp aspect of Savage Worlds had truth in them. The Plagued and the Living Dead pose almost no threat to Kedrick within the Savage Worlds ruleset. I could try to balance things out, but instead I’ll most likely go with the third (and hopefully last) conversion using BRP. BRP already has the stats I need to use so it will be mostly converting Kedrick and choosing any relevant optional rules to accommodate the setting.
Benjamin J Marra and 
Solo, Pen, Paper and Dice 
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