Saturday, October 16, 2010

Seeking the Shadows: A DFRPG Campaign: Parties and Pyroclasms

The second session of this campaign turned out to have…slightly more plot than the first one. (Not difficult. The first plot amounted to a giant arrow yelling “Go Here.”) The players all went to the Calvieri Institute for the Gifted the next day and were shocked to find that the place was ridiculous.

I’m talking full-scale compound. For being in SoCal, this school is clearly out of place. In fact, the players all looked at me when the guard instructed them to go to building 295 – the Physics Lab. They didn’t seem to understand me when I said “the biggest compound you’ve ever seen, and Gates over there is a frillionaire.” Nevertheless, they attend a very nice reception and meet the blandest school president ever – Mr. Term Limit, who unfortunately was born without a personality.

After the reception, they meet a girl named Victoria, described in Aya’s notes as “tall blonde leggy British hot”. Gates, having a vampire paranoia that borders on hysterical, makes sure that he notes anyone with a name and if they’ve walked through direct sunlight. I feel like this is a slight overreaction, but hey, let him check if he wants. Victoria takes them on a tour of campus that lasts all day. The players find out that Victoria is taking classes personally from the Headmistress – Veronica Calvieri. (I like names that start with V. It gives them a good flavor!) They find out that Calvieri is not currently in the area, as her flight back from Italy was delayed, and she would be returning to campus after dark.

Yes. All the players found that suspicious. Yes, I’m evil.

Regardless, Veronica led them around the campus and eventually, eyeing River (That got some attention) asked her if she wanted to come to a party in one of the dorms on campus that night. River asked Drake, and he said yes. That evening, Victoria had the school send a limo to pick her up. Sounds a little ridiculous, but I think you'll find as we go that these people actually have more money than God.

River gets to the party, and finds out that it's exactly the kind of party you'd expect. Despite being held in what appears to be a library, there's everything from a keg to a beer pong table. River tries flirting with a few guys to no avail, before running into Victoria, who's already past the point of no return with her intake of alcohol. The party comes to an abrupt end when Calvieri – fresh off the plane back from Italy – shows up. She puts a quick end to the party by threatening everything from suspensions to murder and then pulls River aside personally, because she doesn't recognize her as one of the students in the school.

The two of them go to a nearby office and talk for a little while before Calvieri calls Drake to pick River up, without much more than a very very stern warning.

Aya, at her house, feels a strange pull from the other side of town. Knowing that this is generally what her divine premonitions feel like, she books it in that direction.

Drake picks River up, and thanks Ms. Calvieri for being understanding about irresponsible teenagers. They get in the car and go to leave. Drake scolds River mildly in the car.

Aya is driving east like a bat-out-of-hell. Drake is driving west in the same manner.

Then the building to the south – an arcade – burst into flames.

What happened? Tune in next time for more developments in Seeking the Shadows! A (mostly) weekly view into a Dresden Files RPG set in Sunnydale, California.

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