Tuesday, 22 December 2020

Merry Christmas 2020

 Hi all,

A Merry Christmas 2020 to all of you blogsters and gamers out there. It's been a gloomy old year, but hopefully you have been able to get a game in here and there, do some model painting or find some interesting new rulesets out there to pass the time.

       I have been in contact with my first GM, Richard and his brother, John and we have managed to get a RPG together to while away the time. I have posted the early episodes on here, so at least I have been able to generate some content for the blog, even though it was not exactly wargame stuff.

I have not been reading many blogs either, being honest, but watching terrain making stuff on YouTube. There are loads of great content out there, for whatever your theme may be. Take another look if you have a spare moment or three.

Take care all,


Ivor Cogdell

Wednesday, 16 December 2020

Dark Things Chapter 1 Turn 7

 Turn 7 – The Gathering Storm – 1:30pm Saturday June 18th 1983.

Weather conditions – snowing in summer.


Emlyn strolls back to the others, not getting anywhere with Charlie.

He walks up to the driver and offers him his hand, ”I’m Emlyn, that’s Ramsay, we

work at the paper, that’s PC Tom and down the hall is Marrion, the receptionist, with

her boss".

At this point Marion returns as Thomas he boss is wheeled out of the door on a

stretcher by 3 men in Hazmat suits!

Speaking quieter, ”Something you should know. The Newspaper offices have been taken over

by this lot too. They don’t seem to have our best interests at heart. I recon we should

scram, it’s what the best way of going about it is.

Options

1. Run out the door and leg it to the right and split up then.

2. Me and Ram head for my land rover while you dodge round the corner and pick you up.

3. Out the door and go left and right

4. Any other ideas guys? Refer to Dexter's plan below

“I'm not sure what Marrion is going to do, she may be better off with her boss, and it

puts her in less danger.”

“What’s the deal with our mate next door?”

Ramsay says that two way contact has been made. There are 3 people and one

dog, there may be more hiding in there but not sure. The owner, waitress and man

with the sausage dog are prepared to either (a) hide in lockdown until the soldiers go

or (b) make a run for it out the back entrance to the bar and grill and join in an

escape via the walkway. They don’t think they can make it out the front as the guy

with the dog only has one leg!

“Tom, why were you armed today? How did you get from Crawl Ley. Which way did

that plane come from and which way did the jets come from?”


PC Tom's Witness Statement

The New Wyndham Police Station received a call from the land lord of the Corbitt House, Crawl Ley.

A family that was living there has gone missing and he was worried they had come to harm.

The family in question are the Marcarios. Professor Marcario works at the Eye, he has a wife, a

daughter and two sons.


The Police are a bit stretched, some officers are on plain clothes duty at the FA Trophy final at

Wembley where Wyndham FC have got to the final.

On a hunch, particularly as the Professor is a high security target, working at the Eye and most of his

details are not on record, Tom decided to check out a firearm.

Travelling to the Corbitt House in Carwl Ley, Tom was able to use a key provided by the land lord to

gain entry. Tom was searching the upper floor, one of the bedrooms when he heard a roar outside.

Looking out of the window he saw two jets chasing a third aircraft which was glowing blue.

The Corbitt House has a panoramic view of central and Northern Wyndham.

The 3 aircraft first flew to Mount Wyndham, from the direction of RAF Wyndham. Then blue

lightning seemed to strike the Eye. He thinks he saw missiles fired from the two jets and the blue

object chased by the jets flew back toward RAF Wyndham.

A cloud of smoke was rising from near the Eye, at the base of Mount Wyndham.

The blue aircraft was clearly in distress and started to lose height as it approached New Town

Centre.


At this point it had started to snow, and then suddenly without warning something hit Tom from

behind and he fell through the bedroom window. It’s a miracle he wasn’t killed, but his leg was badly

hurt as was his face.

He then staggered to his police car and hearing a loud rumble, no doubt the sound of the blue

aircraft coming down he drove with blue lights on to the New Wyndham station where he could see

smoke rising from the crash site.

Realizing the plane was down, Tom tried to get help from the hotel as the bar and grill was locked.

That’s basically where he met up with you. He reckons that the survivors climbing out the downed

plane don’t look right. His expert eyesight seems to indicate that they are small, maybe child size

and he also reckons they were armed!


Dexter's ideas

Dexter doesn't trust these people and will demand if he is going anywhere that he is allowed

to drive his bus. The Corporal seems to be supportive of this idea.


It will be more comfortable for people, with its heaters, than them crappy army wagons for

a start and he can't leave his bus, because it is bus company property. If people agree,

Dexter will convoy with the Army vehicles to the base, but will try to gauge any dissent in

the people on the bus, with the idea of overthrowing any Army guard aboard, performing

some crazy driving and escaping the convoy in the blizzard.


If he is allowed on the bus he will start it open to check the engine and generally buggering

about, before at an opportune time banging the revs up, dropping the clutch and trying to

knock any guard he has on board off balance and perform some crazy driving moves to get

out of the car park - Maybe shunt the cop car out the way, or a bus handbrake turn over

some flower beds or wot-not.


If neither of these options become available, he will ask people for food. He ain't going

anywhere without food and will ask if he can go to the bar/grill next door to get something

to eat. An opportunity to meet up with those hiding in there.


Options

The window of opportunity for escape is closing.

Option 1 – Escape now

Take Marion with you or not?

Escape on foot, vehicle or indeed both.

If escaping by foot, do you let those in the bar and grill know – they could sneak out the back and

join you, they think.


Escaping by foot wouldn’t be that fastest as PC Tom has an injured leg and if you’re joined by the

one legged dog owner and Morse code signaler from the bar and grill, well you’d be further slowed

down, unless it was basically everyone at best speed!


Escaping by vehicle is also problematic. The bus would give you punching power, able to shunt

vehicles out of the way. However, speed-wise it’s not the best. The land rover with its 4 x 4

capabilities would be a good alternative. Its mobility and speed would help, but you wouldn’t be able

to take many people, but those in the bar and grill aren’t willing to run out of the front of the

establishment and would rather hold in place until the soldiers have gone, unless a foot escape takes

place.


Tom thinks his Rover 3500 police car wouldn’t make it up the slope so rule that out.

Assuming some escape on land some by vehicle then the proposal is to loop around and pick up

those on foot in the vehicle and make good your escape.

Option 2 – Escape Later

Join in the convoy back to RAF Wyndham. At an opportune moment Dexter would make a sign, slam

the brakes to knock any soldiers on board off balance. Then they could be overpowered. You would

then break away and make good your escape.


Destination

Another consideration is where you run to if you escape. PC Tom suggests, odd as it sounds the

Police Station near the New Town Centre. It’s not far away and the police there are likely to be loyal.

Problem is that there aren’t that many staff on duty today and they’re likely to be pushed

responding to the weather.

The Newspaper – that may not be a good idea as you know it is under military control, but maybe

you could stop at a phone box and make a call to check if that is still the case?

The bus depot? Dexter has some friends there. Many may be out on duty stuck in snow.

Home? Select a base to regroup at a house of one of your group and assess the situation.

Clearly strange things are afoot and as Dexter keeps asking why is it snowing and where is the

food???.




Dark Things Chapter 1 Turn 6

Dark Things  - Chapter 1 Turn 6

Adventurers

Ivor as Emlyn, John as Dexter, Kitty, Paul and Wendy - they are currently in the adventure doing stuff that Emlyn does not know about yet.

Character: Emlyn Cadoc

Settings: Rules: d20 rules Interaction: ‘Go for it!’

Profession: Reporter at the Wyndham Whistle

Player: Ivor Cogdell

Description: Young with an innocent smile. Aged 23, Male.

STR: 14 DEX: 15 CON: 14 INT: 14 POW: 13 APP: 11 SIZ: 13 EDU: 12 MOVE: 9 LUCK: 11 SAN: 65 MP: 13 HP: 13

Attacks: 1 Punch

Punch: (-1 to hit) doing 1d3+1d4+1

Skills: Photography 60%, Acting: 50%, Writing: 60%, Credit Rating: 50%, Dodge: 57%, Drive Auto: 20%, Brawling: 45%, Welsh Language: 21%, Advanced English: 20%, Library Use: 40%, Research: 70%, Gather Information: 40%, Diplomacy: 40%, Sense Motive: 40%


Equipment: Smart office suit, boots, notebook and pen, wallet with about £20 and the keys to a Land Rover! Fire extinguisher CO2 (next to the seat in reception), Press card, bottle of water


Turn 6 – The Gathering Storm – 1pm Saturday June 18th 1983


Emlyn turns to Dexter and asks how the vehicles are arranged outside.

Meanwhile Ramsay scribbles a couple of maps into his notebook (refer to the attached), one for the interior of the hotel (from the fire evacuation plan on the wall) and the exterior layout from shared knowledge as Emlyn was also able to look outside while talking to ‘Charlie the Tango Killer’.

The soldiers now seem to be moving up the hotel stairs searching the upper levels. One soldier has appeared from the far service room and is walking along the corridor.

The Colonel is in a bit of a heated conversation with the severe civilian guy with the clipboard. Dexter shouts over ‘I’m not going nowhere without my coach! It’s company property and if you want us at RAF Wyndham my coach would be a much better form of transport.”

You hear the Colonel saying “Adoph, that sounds like a good idea. We have no idea what we’re loading in the back of that army truck!”

It sounds like the Colonel likes the idea of commandeering the coach.

The 3 Hazmat suited personnel have left the hotel with Thomas the hotel day-manager, Marion's boss on the stretcher.

Both Dexter and Emlyn are set on a possible escape. Ramsay and Tom the Policeman are both up for it. Marion seems really scared and is shivering, but seems intent on following your lead.

Emlyn looks at the maps and determines that there would be a possible escape route if you decided to evade on foot. As you come out of the front of the hotel, which faces the railway station you could turn right (north) then right again and you would be around the northern corner of the hotel and out of sight of all the soldiers in and around the carpark.

You could then flee on foot along a footpath that runs east along the very top of the map away from the station area. No vehicle could chase, except for motorbikes but there are no sign of those.

Dexter's plan is to talk the army in allowing him to use his coach to transfer the 5 of you to RAF Wyndham, which seems to be an option from the response of the Colonel. You would form convoy with the military vehicles, but at an opportune moment he would veer off and make good your escape.

If they place a guard on the coach then at a signal Dexter could press the breaks, knock the guard off limits and you could overpower him.

A more dramatic course would be to gun it as soon as you are on the coach and make good the escape immediately. However, there seem to be a heck of a lot of military hardware on or near the approach road.

The five of you group together to consider your options.

Tom seems to favour the coach option. Marion is concerned that all these options involve abandoning Thomas and whoever the second casualty is. Ramsay favour's Emlyn's plan.

If it came to a vote it would seem to be 2 – 2 for the escape options with Marion undecided and the problem is that she doesn’t seem to be willing to make a decision!




Regards all,

Ivor Cogdell


Dark Things Copyright 2020 (C) Richard Burd. All rights reserved.