Dramatis Personae
- Amos M. Humiston (Played by Christopher D): The Linguist and Librarian. He is the brains to the rest of the group’s brawn; but by the same token, he’s slow and cautious compared to the other Orphans, preferring not to charge forwards until he has the answers that he’s looking for. Those same answers that he more than happily provides the rest of the group when they turns to him about the more esoteric aspects that they’re working with and against. Recently Amos has nearly completed his double Masters in Library & Information Science Archives and History and has also managed to get a rather special job lined up. He has also learned from others that he hold the potential to be a Sorcerer which if unlocked would be able to enhance his already considerable talent with ritualistic magic. Tagline: “True alchemists do not change lead into gold; they change the world into words.”
- Devin Broadhurst (played by Rob D.): There was a blurb here the entire time. But it disappears every time you look away from the screen. Tagline: “You saw it, but forgot it.”
- Gabriel MacAlister (played by Douglas Cole): Built like the natural athlete he is, he is tall, strong, and solidly good-looking, but deeply scarred from much combat. He’s missing his lower leg, which he lost fighting zombies. It is capped by a carbon fiber prosthetic that doesn’t seem to interfere much with his activities. A quiet and hard-working man, always ready to lend a hand with any work, which he will do without complaint or obligating the other person to respond. He is an expert martial arts teacher, and has been following in the footsteps of a carpenter for some time now. Emphatically not a pushover or weak personality, but also not one to purposefully show off. Has been in many horrible places and seen many horrible things; he’s a bit of a compulsive planner as a result, as well as always feeling that most folks don’t really know how lucky they are. He was cursed to carry a magical sword for a while, and gave into its Wrath before it was parted from him magically. He’s since given it up, in exchange for unknown burdens. Tagline: “To serve others is the highest calling; to protect the meek the noblest endeavor, and our works are judged by the effort that went into them”
- Kamali Blackshear (played by Merlin A.): Kamali is a young man in his late teens. He is healthy and is of mixed ethnicity of Caucasian South African and native South African. He is a determined youth who believes in a justice of his own, likening himself to the knight of the round table whom he has read deeply into. Just as they stood against the darkness of their age so too does Kamali seek to do the same. For his sister, for his friends, and for the world. Tagline: “A knight without a sword carrying a faith nobody believes.”
- Lorenzo De Modouco (played by Christian G.): A man with movie star looks and a voice that belongs on the radio. Slowly coming to grips with the fact that he isn’t exactly human, but a “Lupus Dei” – “Wolf of God” – otherwise known as a Benandanti. He’s still cheery and always trying to make others happy, but has become a shrewd student of human behavior, which he uses for the benefit of the rest of his team. Lorenzo’s recently joined the Boston Fire Department as a volunteer as a means to get access to places he normally shouldn’t be able to go as well as medical gear and information that might not be available to the public. He’s become a master of spear fighting and like the rest of his brothers is a highly capable combatant. Tagline: “You can take me to the gates of Hell, but I won’t back down and I won’t be turned around.”
Previously . . .
After Amos risks his soul to summon and repair the Tower of Babel, the boys debate on what order to take on the response to things, with Kamali getting a vision of an orphanage being attacked by vampires.
Get Your Undead Mitts Off Those Kids
Amos, Devin, Gabe, Kamali, and Lorenzo
Rockport Orphanage
Thursday, May 4th, 2000, 11:00 pm
42°39’5.14″N, 70°38’5.87″W, MA, USA
The boys rush to the scene to find a large group of vampires assaulting the orphanage. Lorenzo moves forwards to kill a vampire ignoring the ones in the darkness before them while Kamali follows. Lorenzo takes a few rounds versus a rifle while a vampire charges Kamali with a shotgun catching him full in the chest.
Amos dodges a bullet while Gabe charges forwards to smack someone with a flaming broadsword while Devin ducks past Amos to fire a stun ray at a vampire. An attempt to ward the orphanage against the vampires fail as the previous casting catches up to him, and instead his skin cracks open with an eerie glow.
Kamali moves forwards and shines his sword at the vampires with one proving immune to the reaction while other boys dodge gunfire. Gabriel takes down the firing squad and Kamali runs in to smite another vampire with a blow from Excalibur before being grabbed and bitten by two others that scrambled upon him. Gabriel moves to strike them down with one managing to move out of the way at the last second.
Devin rolls up and into a standing position while Amos slings a ball past him and takes out a vampire’s foot with Lorenzo failing to take down it down all the way. Gabe protects a civilian and Devin runs off towards the rest of the battle and Amos slings a ball right into the vampire’s ear, blowing right through his head and letting light through the other side.
Gabe slices one of the vampires in twine while Lorenzo spears the last group and the boys set down to destroying the vampire bodies and healing the infected caretakers, healing themselves as the night goes on.
The boys start hiking down towards Peter’s Pulpit for the next combat.
Peter Don’t You Call Cause I Can’t Go
Amos, Devin, Gabe, Kamali, and Lorenzo
Peter’s Pulpit
Friday, May 5th, 2000, 12:00 am
42.6448170449, -70.6539281619, MA, USA
Combat starts and the immediately a curse pops out and causes the boys a lot of trouble while balls of hellfire start getting thrown around the field. Gabe blocks one meant for Amos and two sorcerers burst into giant auras of hellfire. Lorenzo throws his spear at one of the cultists and misses.
A vampire speeds across the land and stabs Gabriel in the back causing a large amount of damage before being burned by hellfire. More is thrown around.
Kamali rips through the vampire while Gabe calls on his shield to heal himself. On top of that an angel descends from the sky and starts to stab the cultists while the boys start to slash everything. But the blood of an angel hits the summoning circle and it starts to go crazy. Apparently the blood of an angel has opened a crack to hell. Amos offers up Elmer’s Grimoire as a way to close it, the angel instead takes blood from everyone but Amos, telling him, “You know why you cannot.” There’s nothing that he can do but look on and listen as the angel takes the hellmetal daggers and drives them into the stone in the form of a Seal of Solomon.
Aftermath
Taking time to then get wounds taken care of, the angel helps drop them back to the temporary camp at Dogtown and start working to help the others with their battles. Amos and Gabe call down rain via herbal and prayer to cover over a mile spreading out from the Tower of Babel while also helping Kamali and Devin cobble together some strategy for the battle to come.
After Action Report (GM)
So I created a REALLY quick and dirty version of Mass Combat to get through this session. Why? Because I don’t feel like running 500+ combatants. You could DO it in GURPS, but I don’t wanna. So there were a few options the PCs took allowing them to influence the really big battle. The PCs were suitably heroic and overall, they did all the things that is going to make the big battle much harder for the bad guys. A few highlights:
- Aura attacks when grouped in 5 or more make for the nastiest of passive damage possible in GURPS.
- 12 points spent in an RPM missile spell on various traits lets you bring the hellfire rain and the pain.
- If you ever play with me, never ever ever give me ammunition as a GM: “What’s the angel blood going to do on that unholy summoning circle?” I’M GLAD YOU ASKED OVERLY ENTHUSIASTIC PLAYER. LET ME DECIDE.
- If you can Smite evil beings always Smite unholy beings. Smites R Us = Good.
Other Notes
None.
Soundtrack
“End of the Night” by the Doors (opening song)
“Old Devil” by Emancipator
“The Devil and the Hunstman” by Sam Lee & Daniel Pemberton
“Sweet Child of Mine” by Taken by Trees
“Lullaby for a Soldier (Arms of the Angels)” by Maggie Siff (closing song)
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