Blind-Blue and Hatchet City runs + experiences & responses

So I've MCed "Blue-Blind and Hatchet City" twice, and yes - I keep juxtaposing 'blind' and 'blue'. These two threads saw something interesting: Hatchet City sells ApW    and    Blind-blue and Hatchet City playtests poorly.

So this thread is for my runs (I hope to run it a few more times), and experiences - and perhaps most of all the reponses returned from the players.


Note that I am by no means an established gamemaster (MC) or even charismatic, so I think my efforts will be very "regular joe MCs a con-scenario".


My two runs so far has been on a con, and I'm selling it as a con-scenario that's not written by my that I want to run at a Convention come june.

My internet-issues aren't all up, as I also need to paint after my moving. Hopefully I'll get this written soon enough.

So my first run was at a small indie-con. There it's freakin' easy getting brilliant players who'll never shoot something down, but to much goingon meant that we only got 3 players. Now one of the players had bought the book and actually requested a playtest on the Con, and the other two participated in the impromptu game the night before (part I). Because of a bad knee, we had to play in the common area, which did impede the session somewhat.


Set-up/characters:

I did my usual: "I like to play in the northern part of the continent we today call 'America', as one of my agendas is making the world seem real and I think it's easier to fulfill it with the oppourtinuties of the 'Salad Bowl' - and all of the movies we've seen.... you know (they all do ;)) It's not like we couldn't play anywere, but also I'm a lazy disorganized busy fuck, so I'm not intending to alter the naming lists for a one-shot". I also mentioned that I liken post-apoc with deserts, but that I'm not burning for it in this regard. Then I showed the map of the ruins.

I was bummed to lose out on an Angel or a  Violent-person (Faceless?), but we got something cool here:

Mastiff the Hard-holder, leather fetish wear and looked like a Man-O-War-albumcover with Rob Halford as a special star. Brimful's family ended up as those who manufactured guns. A fucking important guy to keep happy, as the "how's the war going?"-loveletter would show us with two staring (snake)eyes! Luckily Michi didn't get the knife in him.

Smith the Brainer, Old, like well over 40. Formal wear, looks like a kind old man, who's dedicated to Hatchet City, despite catching the Damoscles-allusion. Does his job skillfully and thoroughly, but his fascination with people is of a sick sorts. Plans to murder his assistant, has enslaved the prisoner and is in love with Pull, the pretty young newest addition to Mastiffs bodyguard.
 The player really cheered when he read the playbook! The night before he played a brilliant gunlugger who kept adding to setting, but didn't really do anything - as it didn't fit him. Now he just loved the book and it's optioins!

Grace the Skinner - beautuiful face, lush body, fancy dresses (all gifts) and a parrot. Her 'art' is making animals behave not like animals. The parrot can even talk a few sentences. Everybody loves her in Hatchet City.

Both Smith and Grace have come to Hatchet through Ambergrease, and both rejected his offers.

Hx! As always a blast, and the bricklaying of brilliant play:

I say that the boss should go first, so Mastiff tells us he's a nice guy and all, and am willing to listen, but that war is war so he could be more open. Hx+0. Grace makes that +1 and the Brainer says he remembers when he fell asleep at the table in council. While it probably was just for a little while, you found me looking intently at you saying: "Iiiinteerestiiiiiing." Hx+3

The Brainer says that he's difficult to get, Hx-1 but Grace responds that he's in love with her, and the Brainer adds on it by saying he's been following her around, so that would make sense. Mastiff claims the Brainer is a nice addition to the Hold and all, but that he once stole from him. The Brainer says: "Sure, could it be a human? Like a luitenant or something?"  It seems Dustwich was "set free" by Smith. :6

------------------------------------   

Hx could be my favourite rpg-mechanic!!

So the war-effort is going to hell, as the snake eyes told us, so I have Mastiff enumerating what's wrong, while I snigger and mouth: "Good luck, sucker!". Then the Brainer, who's on top of his shit, asks three questions and get's the answer to "is michi really a spy?", "how come Ambergrease's men fight so thoroughly" and "upon what or whom is the psychic maelstrom so intent?" I lay it all out on the table, so to speak.

Then Grace tells me she's really well situated, and get's a few resentful glares and groans when she exclaims that "if I walk out of Hatchet City, Ambergrease's men will lead me directly to him - unharmed!" ... also Dustwich will open her doors to Grace, Brimful's keyed up and Wooden will desert the hardholder and bring her gang to Grace's defence!

We're off!

First scene is Brimful, a large old miletary-looking man who demands a meeting, worried about the war-effort. They meet in Mastiffs quarters, were Smith is oogling Pull and Grace puts on a show hypnotizing Brimful to: Want to see her alone, bring her a gift and need her services. We're also aqainted to Tip, who's a rare beaty with  a soft body and eyes like a Disney-deer calf. Mastiff wants to have Brimful swear to not sell arms to Ambergrease. Brimful won't, but says that "when if Hatchet City falls he'll need to take care of his family and make a deal. Until then, they're good, but Brimful will never again come to Mastiff's office like a vassal. Mastiff is pleased.

When Brimful leaves, he goes to Grace: "Your presence illuminates us all, know that you are always welcome in my family - on your terms! Ask anything and I will give it to you, I need to meet you! Ask anything except Tip!"

From Smiths quarters come the sound of a grammaphone-record. And in the night Grace is awoken by tip who throws herself at Grace, who gracefully declines and talks her into returning to Brimful - and promises to not divulge the nightly visit!

Next night they're awoken by a scream following a shot. (Remember, there's snipers in two bunkers across the river - firing every day, once nearly hitting Mastiff in what really just was a colour scene when we started.) Mastiff understand that he needs to do something and risks himself by seizing the hurt gang-member, failing and then acting (literally) under fire to drag him away. The ganger's body is shot once more, and so is Mastiff, but I've neglected to look at the equipment so Mastiff has 2-armor and is only a 6 p.m.

While Mastiff gets a "the men think you did good" from one of his guard, we hear the grammophone playing a little off-key. When we look inside, we see Smith ordering the enslaved gang-boss to turn the grammophone a little faster, then Smith kills Gramma who's strapped to a chair. I gestalt the gang-boss through the scene and sit motionless when I use my hand to indicate the blood-splatter which slowly drips from his face while he turns the grammophone. Smith scoops up the blood and uses it for a ritual to Open his brain and learn that there's blue tentacles in the psychic maelstrom that's reaching blindly out from Ambergrease's compound, searching for Grace. (Remember he knew this last part from the question he got to ask in the loveletter.)

Now we're getting more and more interuptions around us, as others have (coffee) breaks, and even getting finished from their own things.

As Smith and Mastiff tries to have a secret conversation, Grace listens in, but is caught and awakens with a bump in her head and several armed people fighting over her. Wooden has shown her colours and Mastiff get's a little frustrated. It's sorted that Grace will be "protected" by two men at all times.

Mastiff decides that the Bunkers need to go, and Smith agrees and they have a nice conversation were they agree to sacrifice Grace. As they shake hands, Smith's player says loudly: "You're TAGGED!" - and the whole room laughs (including Mastiff's player).

Grace, who's not aware of this, but feels that the time has come to hunt for more. (Her parrot is freaking out, saying stuff about love and consuming love/lovemaking that she never thought it - and as she opens her brain she get's a vague impression that she's wanted across the river.)

The plan is that Mastiff will get a boat and armour it's stern and glide over in the night, while Smith will take a small force to deal with a threath he's opened brain thought him. They both fail their act under fire/sneak-rolls and as Smith's crew is stopped by a guard with a machine gun in the tower, their boat drifts as they see someone walking across the bridge. Mastiff is aware of this as well, as the two men accompanying Grace is shot while she is called forward.

Then Mastiff get's the bunkers with a rockin seize-roll and Smith slinkers back. It's going to be a LONG war!

Grace get's shot when Mastiff acknowledgement of the gunluggers question about her is misinterpreted. As she barely succeeds, I'll give her a hard bargain. The gunluggers of Ambergrease will carry her to him if she agrees to "give'em a night".

"Let me die with Grace," she says weekly as the blood flows in the earth and one of the men do, as I onomatopoetiate a gunshot.

-----------------------------        -------------
I really regret not having the prescence to have a follow up scene were we see the lonely, tortured Blue-Blind (which I imagine having the body of Halle Berry), as both Grace's player and myself was looking forward to her getting there. But we play to find out!

sorry for the haphazardous posting, as last night a fire in a garage lent me not having the time alone. Next up will be lessons learned/evaluations (from the players)