Hubris
Villains are undone by what is worst in them, heroes by what is best.
- Voltaire

This section of the game will contain information on sessions and other stuff, like any PC Journals kept or whatnot.

The end is where we start from (Eliot)
July 13th 2002

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
- Robert Frost, "Fire and Ice"

Important note: this campaign may end soon. Due to forces caused by, about and in some cases beyond PC control the world is slipping into an aybss. Running away is not an option. The question is whether the players want to play an apocalyptic campaign as it becomes that or not. If the players agree, the game continues. If not, it ends. I leave the choice to the group.

The PCs are powerful, but you simply can't stop the world from the results of these nukes, and what it means. Like the sayig goes, "With great power comes great responsibility." But what's the next step? "With great responsibility comes.." What? Guilt? Courage? Fear? Redemption? Insanity? It's up to you :)

- Alcar

Previous rants/soap boxes/things can be found here.

Forum

A game forum can now be found for this game as well. Toss ideas back and forth and such here.

Session Summaries

"The Smell of The City" Prologue #1 [Tuesday, April 2nd, 2002]
Plotted by Alcar, Written by Alcar & Baliadoc, Edited by Sparkie

Wesley ends up saving the remains of a street gang from Wrath and Wrath becomes Wendall in his office, which definitely counts as experiencing something new every day. Beside having an odd heacache and his father coming to town, Wesley still thinks he's human - mostly. He just needs to find out where that coat came from ...

Hubris Vol. 1, no. 1ish. March, 2002. (ISSN #1234-4567910) Published by NO ONE: John Doe, President. Jane Q Public, Publisher. A.N. Other Person, Everything else. OFFICE OF PUBLICATION: Yeah, right. NO POSTAGE PAID, ANYWHERE Published weekly. Kopywrite 2002 by Some Important Group, Inc. All rights reversed. Price $200,000 per copy in the US and lots more in Canada since their dollar is our penny. Subscription rates for 12 issues don't exist, since we don't expect to last that long. No similarity between any of the names, characters, persons and or institutions in this game with any living or dead or undead person is intended, and any such similarity which may exist is purely coincidental unless we just felt like doing it, in which case you can blame Alcar and we just don't give a damn and, beside, we really like run-on sentences. This game cannot be sold and we don't have any authorized dealers so we might as well stop here. The PCs, and any distinct likenesses thereof, are not trademarked except maybe by the PCs sick, twisted minds, which should in no way reflect the kind, loving and generous mind of the GM. Postmaster, send all comments to Hubris c/o jmacleod@comnet.ca

"A Day At The University, part I" Prologue #2 [Tuesday, April 2nd, 2002]
George's Prologue

Waking up in your dorm is normal. Waking up in women's clothing is not, at least not for George Smith. Finding out that you can't recall last night and smoeone wrote your Quantum Physics essay and handed it in for you just make your day even stranger, especially when your prof is sure it's plagarised, but who plagarises by turning an 8 page essay into a 26 page masterpiece with a 3 page list of works cited? Must be a new designer drug out there ...

"A Day At The University, part II" Prologue #2 [Wednesday, April 3rd, 2002]
Jenny's Prologue

Jenny was taken to jail (for being in George's clothes and being unable to explain where he was. George woke up their in the morning, but the police are convinced it was some camera glitch - women don't transform into men overnight.* Lance figured it out, but no one else would believe the truth, not even George. He asked Jessie to stay with him, and when he became Jenny, she began explaining some things to Jenny.

* The operation generally takes longer. - Alcar

"Convergences" [Wednesday, April 3rd, 2002]
Game Session 1 (Baliadoc, Caltak, Chaos, Darkkin - EXP: 5 each)

Jenny and Jessie head for the physics building to eat, where they help Stella stop a fellow named David from harassing his former girl friend, also named Jenny. Jenny goes back to Georges rooms, Stella has a meal with her father, who leaves to carpool with Stella's mom.
Meanwhile, Wesley has been investigating the strangeness, and was talking with Boston Sun reporter Jane Cecilson. Leaving the globe, he got one of his "headaches" and saw Stella. Her presence weakened it wehen he got closer and he realised he saw a glowing star on her head, one she did not see.
Then they heard singing: "I am the light that lights the light, I am the hand that holds the hand, I am the fire that never dies, I am the fire that always burns." Then the voice chanted slowly: "There is wisdom in the pathless way, there is wonder at the end of the roads, stars fall brightly but still burn, darkness to light and darkness again." However, the Bum who sang (only seen by Wesley, Stella thinks someone might have been there) had vanished, leaving behind a bottle of "John Smith Whiskey, Established".
At that point, Stellas bus came, with the driver unconscious and it being held hostage(?) by a maniac. The Bus nearly crashed into Stella, who changed to avoid it. Wendall, meanwhile, was heading to the Sun to explain what he was then the bus clipped him. Wrath was unleashed and began saving people, with Wesleys help in not killing any by accident. Barry arrived and helped save some as well as somehow disabling the cameras of most of the Sun photographers.
The PCs then split up, effectively running away from the press and police. Wesley met Wendall, talked for a bit, then went to a bar to get drunk and had an ... interesting conversation with Barry there. He went home drunk and chatting with the police after that about his car being at the scene of the accident.

And also, the first installment of Wendall's diary. Just because :p

"It was the best of times ..." [Thursday, April 4th, 2002]
Game Session 2 (Baliadoc, Caltak, Chaos, Darkkin - EXP: 8 each)

Barry spends the day buying a hobby shop (phasing into a bank to rob it makes life easy :)), Jenny gets invited to an RPG session with Jerry, Wesley does paperwork and Stella tests her powers and meets Wrath, currently possessed by Wendall. They talk, until Wrath senses somehow the events in the city.

A man who seemed to increase in power when being attacked by marching on the bank, demanding death to the evils of the city because he felt his power had come to him for a Higher Purpose. Choosing that to be God rather than Satan, he decided ... well, he never actually had a goal in mind. He just had power and wanted to use it. When Wesley asked his plans, the man was confused.

He ceased being confused when Wrath flew right into him. No one knows what he did, but he tossed Wrath away like a worn out wash rag. Jenny tried to stop his heart, but somehow failed even as she succeeded. After Stella blasted him, Wesley told everyone to back up and wrestled the man to the ground, knocking him out. Lance Christenen drew his gun on the PCs, saying he had to by law but would rather serve justice, and told them to disarm him and get the hell away. The PCs did that, in their own ways, having survived their first public appearance.

Meanwhile.... [Friday, April 5th, 2002]

Stella and Wendall meet by accident at her work place. Wendall gives Stella his phone number and asks if she has any idea about what they - as a possible group - should do. Stella heads home, then out to see her mother at work when some of the military hone in on her, perhaps because she gives off energy their geiger counters pick up. Stella was saved by someone called Bender who was on the run from someone else called Master J and people before that Bender couldn't recall clearly. Bender had tried some trick to not be caught that meant Stella was noticed so helped her out. Going to Stellas shop, Bender left, then appeared again badly hurt by Master J and some of his friends. Stella took Bender home and the military and FBI found out where Bender was and apparently wanted Bender. They stormed the Windchaser's home but eventually left with lots of apologies about the dead body and the bullet holes in the wall.

"It was the worst of times ..." [Saturday, April 6th, 2002]
Game Session 3 (Caltak, Chaos, Darkkin, Gemm - EXP: 5 each)

As martial law brings Boston to a grinding halt and ugly rumours about it being the fault of the "so-called heroes out to destroy our city" (J. Jonah Jameson :)), A skeleton named Carrion enters the Museum of Natural History to purloin items from the mideival section to find a cure for his own extended life. Wishing to be left alone, he raises most of the skeletons and caused a minor uproar. Fleeing the place with books he'd found, he was followed by Barry (and George, for reasons unknown) into the sewers. They talked for a time and no one died though George managed to astonish an Undead Minion with his, uhm, one track mind.

Having seen some of the devastation on TV, Stella makes a horrible excuse up and runs upstairs. Heading to the museum with Bender, Stella destroyed some skeletons and didn't get hurt by some panicked shots fired at her by the military. bender, trying to protect anyone from dying, did get shot and Stella too Bender to her friend Naomi at the university, who removed the bullet. Now all Stella has to worry about is what was caught on security cameras.*

Meanwhile, Wesley is unconscious with the migraine/hangover of the millenium and Wendall was helping his mom do stuff for school, so wasn't able to leave home.

* Alcar whistles not so innocently :)

"It was the age of wisdom ..." [Saturday, April 6th, 2002]
Game Session 4 (Baliadoc, Caltak - EXP: 5 each)

Stella manages to get out of the university but they know what she looks like and Naomi was there. When she arrived home, Adam confronts her about her strange behavior lately and she tells him what she is. He goes off to think about that after saing she should tell mom and dad too. Bender begins telling Stella some of Bender's own past, recalled when Bender sent a security guard ... somewhere. Wesley, meanwhile, is semi-alive and has no idea what gave him the headache of his life. The FBI wants to talk to him Monday morning and he's currently talking to his father and about to meet Cameron Lancater's new business partner, one John Smith.

Elsewhere, even as Stella is learning somethings about her own family and Wesley, perhaps, about his own, George is currently stuck in a ventilation shaft and about to learn interesting things about Harvard. And somewhere in the city a baby is crying ... crying really loudly.

"It was the age of foolishness ..." [Saturday, April 6th, 2002]
Game Session 5 (Caltak, Gemm - EXP: 7 each)

Stella learns that Naomi has been taken by members of the Harvard faculty to some secret basement under the medical building where they are also holding the only member of the faculty who has developed unnnatural powers, a doctor named Marvin Edgebright. With the aid of Bender, she managed to save them both but kills a few people in the process while trying to evade a poisonous gas. She and Bender manage to make it out alive but both are drained by the effort.

In other news, Skeletor - err, Carrion - decides to send out his army of zombies and part of the Skeletal Horde to take over Boston Harbour. As the death toll mounts and new zombies are made, Carrion butchers a woman who laughs at his ambitions. Luckily for the harbour, Wrath arrives and fights the skeletons, destroying one before flying to avoid destruction by the others. He manages to fight them to a standstill so Carrion orders a retreat and easily evades Wrath's attempts to follow him.

"It was the epoch of belief ..." [Sunday, April 7th, 2002]
Game Session 6 (Caltak, Gemm, WarezBert - EXP: 8 each)

"Another Sunday morning, and the Heathens never sleep. So it is our duty to do the world of the Gods, to remember that the Dead did walk, even if everyone else wishes to forget that not all miracles are bright. Speaking of such, in the work of the Gods, we found one who glowed like the fire of the suns saving a man who had been thrown in the air by a child. A child will lead them all, some say, but what of a child who can speak out against what it does not want? Truly, this is a time of miracles!" - Brother Perry, Church of Eternal Truth.

Besides saving a man from Ricky (and letting the baby into her house), Stella had a long conversation with him, Marvin, and Bender with the addition of Naomi and Summer. Oh, and the GMs new personality disorder. They try and figure out the how and why of powers, but can't come to any consensus as to what to believe or accept as true.

Carrion, meanwhile, is trying to locate his book of potions stolen by the beggar John Smith he hired to help him as well as figure out what happened at the university, since Harvard might have things in it that can help him with his conditon. The Bone Leader asked if he would raise the rest of the "Glorious Army of Darkness" and took him down into a dark cavern filled with the smell of ages and 13 crypts covered in runes. He believes they can aid him in his quest.

"It was the epoch of incredulity ..." [Sunday, April 7th, 2002]
Game Session 7 (Baladoc, Caltak, Chaos, WarezBert - EXP: 8 each, Alcar - EXP: 300)

George overhears the faculty talk about a professor they have drugged for using powers and becomes afraid for his own life, since he mighrt become Jenny in the middle of a class or something, he and Jessie steal one of Jerry's credit cards and book a room in the Day's Inn honeymoon suite until they an decides that to do.

Wesley tries to use his powers to find someone and finds George, hears his conversation with Jessie in Jessie's dorm, does not become a statue (or get ground up for doing obscence things with water) and eventually ends up at the harbour where he sees Lance get fired, converses with Lance and gets lance on his side and takes Wendall home from the alley (who ended up there, exhausted, when he changed back from Wrath).

At The Windchaser's, the other PCs and NPCs begin discussing viable uses for their own powers and how best to work things out with the rest of the world as well.

And something important happens that none of the PCs know about.

And *all* the PCs are now at Sunday without any plot inconsistencies!

"It was the season of Fire - err, Light ..." [Sunday, April 7th, 2002]
Game Session 8 (Baliadoc, Caltak, Chaos, Darkkin - EXP: 15 each)

Queen Ifrel stood at the window, watching the trees grow. Drawing her mind from their depths, she turned to the tall, thin man standing beside her, her silver mask glinting under the light of the Spring sun. “Report.”
The man beside her hesitates, then said “This is mostly based on secondary - “
“Report.” The word was cold, power crawling over the man’s skin and he shivered, uneasy that her power had touched him at all.
“A cleric of the Unspoken God and some fellow travellers - wandering thrill seekers little better than brigands playing at being hero - stumbled across what they claim was an elvish hut in Summer.”
“Was it?” The Queen’s voice was distant, as if the matter was of no importance, but he knew better. That was his job, after all.
“No. There were 4 people in it.”
“The number of power.”
“Quite so,” he said almost testily and felt her smile. “An older healer, who taught the cleric some .. interesting heresies.”
“Heresies?”
“They are not of the Unspoken faith. What else could they be?” Ifrel chuckled. “The runemasters ... questioned her. At least they didn’t try and torture her. Her innovations will be said to have come from her, or divine dreams.”
“Since when does Delta Mu act in the world?”
He started slightly at her naming the Unspoken One, but said “Perhaps all the time, if the heresy that even He is bound to the burning dice of fate is true. In an event, the other 3 companions were a wizard who seemed ... at home here, a woman who could fly and block arrows when she changed in a flash of light and a ghost man who grew wings and flew as well.”
There was a long pause, then Queen Ifrel spoke: “Changing?”
The man shakes his head. “They were not elves. The elvin don’t teach outsiders and not even The Bastard would teach both to others. In our scrying of later events, she unleashed magic closer to our own.”
“Explain.”
“One of their number - a fifth,” he said significantly and saw the Queen stiffen, “left unknown to the others and was found by Varghost. He tied her to the roof of his tower and tried to call a dragon with a virgin.”
The Queen turned quickly and stared disbelivingly. “He what?!”
The man stepped back from the force of her words, but said “The flying ghost somehow penetrated his wards and vanished with his sacrifice. The flying girl tried to blast Varghosts barrier - which proves them foreigners, or fools - then they saw the dragon.”
“A real dragon.” It wasn’t a question, but the Queen shook her head. “A real dragon.”
“They fled it and it destroyed Varghost and his tower.” The man permitted himself a thin smile. “The man must have been mad. According to our divinations, she was only a virgin to men.”
The queen looked over curiously. “I ... see.”
“The flying girl expected the white man and the 5th to be back at the elf hut. She flew around looking for them and didn’t find them. She vanished with the hut when she returned. The changing has been stirring from Fall and we have runelords scanning the site since you can never trust Summer.”
Queen Ifrel nodded slowly. “A beginning, nephew. Five not from the heartwood or the edges of the four lands. Perhaps the ancient foe we fled.” From anyone else he would have dismissed it as foolishness, but from the Queen .... She looked at him, perhaps expressionless behind the mask as well. “Summon the armies. For the first time, we prepare for war.”

After returning to Earth sans Naomi, Stella attempted to find her and got into an arguement with an air force helicopter. Luckily, it was teleported away by Bender and Wesley drained her before she could to real damage. Wesley spoke with Bender for a bit, then Bender went to try and help Stella. Barry, meanwhile, decided to move to that new world his magic discovered and Jenny began to learn more about her powers.

"It was the season of Darkness ..." [Sunday, April 7th, 2002] - When will Sunday ever end?!
Game Session 8 (Caltak, Gemm - EXP: 9 (Caltak), 7 (Gemm))

Carrion, continuing his plans to take over the city of Boston, raises an undead army some 200 strong under the city, led by a skeleton who calls himself Ulysses. Breaking into Harvards medical center, they found a hidden genetics lab with some odd, sexless creatures doing work for scientists. Killing them all, Carrion had the skeletons bring back one man and lots of computers and genetic information that looked valuable to his lair.

Stella was recovering - somewhat - over the shock of what Bender did to Naomi when all the power in the city went out. In this odd darkness, strange voices were heard over telephones and odd faces seen in TV screens. Naomi and Bender went to the Boston Utilities Commisson and found the fellow they'd taken out at the bank was there with other people, one who could call up storms and throw lightning and another who manipulated metal. Returning home, Stella explained it to her younger brother, Adam:
<AlcarGM> Adam: "What happened?" eagerly
<StarChild`-> "Oh, that guy from the bank was there, with two othe guys I didn't see. I guess one can affect the weather and the other can make inanimate object do what he wants." *shrugs* "Well, they sent the one guy from the bank, who can absorb power and shoot it back, or something, at me first, but I dodged him and...
<StarChild`-> ... Bender sent him outside, so I went after the other two, but they made the wall try to stop me, and when I broke through, they had escaped out the back, stole a squad car, and got away. I found the squad car a wasy south... apparently, it committed suicide by hanging itself from a lamppost."
<AlcarGM> Adam just stares at you

Sorta sums up a nice, quiet Sunday evening :)

"It was the spring of hope ..." [Monday, April 8th, 2002]
Game Session 9 (Baliadoc, Caltak, Darkkin, Keith`, WarezBert - EXP: 10 each)

Captured by the LJR, StarChild and Bender escape by being nuked. Rick discovers something about his past with the death of 2 strange men in yellow robes and his capture of a third even as Wesley tries to discover where everyone is, which isn't an easy task under the best of times as the GM can attest to.

Despite the darkness, there seems to be some hope. The LJR has put out no warrant for StarChild's return, perhaps because they know who she is, but they also allowed her to escape their facility for unknown motivations. A Boston lawyer has begun a super hero defense fund and Cameron Lancaster is building the first Super Hero PR company. Carrion has converted to good and is having his undead army serve as anatomy lessons at Harvard. Well, maybe not.

Meanwhile II [Monday, again]
(Baliadoc, Caltak - EXP: 5)

Stella comes out of the heavens and crashes, re entery being a pain. Wesley gets to help her, and meet her family. Oh, and help deal witht he fact that they're being watched by the LJr, whop give up because Bender keeps confusing their readings.

"It was the winter of despair ..." [Tuesday, April 9th, 2002]
Game Session 9 (Baliadoc, Caltak, Darkkin - EXP: 12 (Caltak, Darkkin), 15 (Baliadoc)

Wesley's sanity takes the day off as he attempts to help find a missing child who turns out to have been given some of the powers of a super who can raise the dead. Wesley eventually meets her acter solving the mystery of where Carrions undead minion got a certain bed from and the woman, Jesa Moonheart, talks to hims and draws some strength from Wesley dealing with his powers to begin to accept her own.

Stella, Bender and Max help stop some terrorists with the aid of one of the hostages, who called himself Ghost Soul and eventually escaped police custody. The bank robbers were rather surprised to be beaten* that quickly and the leader was taken into LJR custody. Max also offered Stella a job.

And speaking of jobs, Barry revealed to Summer Windchaser that their family now had a duchy in another world. Busy doing taxes, Summer was just relieved she didn't have to add it in and had Adam come home fro his trip with Barry to do some schoolwork.

* Especially since they were modelled on the perfect modern Munchkin :) - Sparkie

"We had everything before us ..." [Tuesday, April 9th, 2002]
Game Session 10 (Baliadoc, Caltak, Darkkin - EXP: 20 each)

The 3 villains attempt to take over the city (again) and fail, horribly, as Ember's lighting power overloads the entire power station and the destruction of the city is barely averted by accident. Absorbing the power, the man calling himself Power Man went insane and was taken down by the PCs after blowing up the rest of the station. Ember and the strange man calling himself Ghost Soul escaped and were caught, Ghost Soul surrendering. Max took them into LJR custody but now has to decide whether to tell his superiors about his now sentient armour or not.

As looting began in the city, StarChild was used as a power source to keep things going while Bender decided to "save humans" and ended up getting shot a lot. Bloodhound tried to rescue him and got shot also, Bender managing to teleport both of them away where Max and an older woman named Jesa Moonheart healed them.

The result has been acclaim! The PCs are heroes to the city (well, most of it) and only time will tell what happens next ... but the future looks bright.

"We had nothing before us ..." [Wednesday, April 10th, 2002]
Game Session 11 (ArthurQ, Baliadoc, Caltak, Darkkin, WarezBert - EXP: 8 each)

Wesley has a long talk with Bender, concincing it that suicidal actions won't save humans. Bender, realising it's own actions led to deaths, agrees for the most part and is feeling guilty, as any NPC that does what the GM never intended bloody well should! Adam Windchaser beigns acting peculiar and, under questioning from Wesley, is revealed to be a clone spell and not Adam, who is stil prtending to be a noble in that other world. The clone vanishing when the spell is broken.

Wesley leaves for the Globe part and doesn't make it due to a sudden attack of insanity. Or perhaps real sanity.

As StarChild continues to give the city power, she ends up at the Boston Globe party for the PCs along with Rick. An altercation with the Queen of the North and Immortal (from Eugenics) leads to the Queen being turned into a paste by Rick and winter striking the city for over an hour in the afternoon. Besides them, a youth calling himself Dominator was presant but managed to sprain his ankle and do nothing else of note. No one really found out if he has powers or not.

StarChild returns home with Bender and they enter the other world to resuce Adam. They manage to find him after some druid shave captured him for impersonating a noble. Stella managed to get them to reverse the blinding and not kill her younger brother, but he returns home minus a tongue an castrated.

Void, meanwhile, discovers some kind of barrier has been placed around the city in the evening when all radio and TV signals break up from outside. Investigating, he discovers there is a barrier of unknown construction around the city that quickly becomes invisible to him. The cause, an older man with qwhite hair and a salt and pepper beard, gets rather angry at Void for trying to break the barrier and seems under a lot of stress. Void trties to get answers and fight him, failing on both counts, and the man vanishes shortly after, to repair Bender punching a hole through the shield to bring StarChild and Adam home. Void ends up going to work and takes a co-worker out for a meal.

StarChild also attempts to contact Wesley to find out where Jesa is, but is unable to as Wesley's insanity has let to him being convinced he's "a fucking dwarf right now."

"We were all going direct to Heaven ..." [Wednesday, April 10th, 2002]
Game Session 12 (ArthurQ, Caltak, Darkkin - EXP: 15 each)

Summer Windchaser reacts rather badly when told her son can no longer speak and has been castrated. Adam reacts by attempting suicide, which Bender stops and StarChild convinces him Jesa might be able to heal him. Barry arrives and StarChild tries to prevent him from taking Adam away. Summer tries to kil Barry but Bender stops her and Barry gets away. Both Bender and StarChild arrive at Barry's comic book shop.

Void finishes his meal with Tracy and heads out to fight crime. Stopping a potential rapist, he takes the man to the police station. However, as the police never saw the man do anything, they are unable to charge him with any crime so he goes free.*

* Take that, comic book heroes turning crimminals over to the police! - Alcar :)

Void stops two other punks from breaking into another place then hears the security Alarm as Stella blasts her way into Barry's shop. After a short confrontation, the go downstairs where Barry is unable to heal Adam magically so switches bodies. Adam demands his back and Barry changes them back, somehow using his power to heal adam in the process. Stella hits Barry after and sends him into coma-land.

This sort of sums things up: <Void--> Alright... uhg..... why cant you people keep it simple and just fight the ones trying to take over the world?

As a result of all this Adam is alive, the city has power in 3/4 of it, Eugenics was dealt a big blow and the PCs are actually doing well in public opinion. Now for the other shoe to drop :)

"We were all going direct the other way. - Charles Dickens, 'A Tale of Two Cities'Game Session 13 (Baliadoc, Everyone Else - EXP: Baliadoc 20, Everyone Else - 5)

WeSleY gOeS tO aNoThEr WoRlD, mAyBe, wHeRe JoHn SmItH MaKeS sOmE fOG. sMiTh TeLlS HiM tO gO aWaY. wEsLeY eNdS uP iN a FuN pLaCe. WeLl, NoT FuN. mOrE lIkE sTrAnGe. ThErE hE MeEtS a WoMaN wHo ClAiMs To KnOW HIM HIm HIM but not anymorebecausehe'snothimanymore. ReAlY. and then he meets wendall & wrath & lots of other fun and strange sights. Wes leaves eventually with help and ends up back in the real world he goes to Stella's and gets told about events he missed somewhat AND THen the session like ends.

"The more things change..." [Wednesday - at least it wasn't an eternal monday]
Game Session 14 (ArthurQ, Baliadoc, Caltak, Darkkin - EXP: 30 Baliadoc, 20 everyone else)

Once upon a time there was a Queen. She was an angry queen, for an evil wizard had put her child in jeopardy and, even having freed him, was still hated for what had been done. And there was her daughter, the princess, who made a bargain with the evil kingdom that had harmed her once for friendship's sake, and perhaps for love. Oh, there was a questing knight as well, who freed a child from a foul nightmare, and a mage who sought to defend the good against the evil.

But this is life. It's a story too, but not a fairy one. It's the only real story, the only one ever told. There is no once upon a time, for we do not know when the Story began. We step on the stage, say a few lines and - if we're lucky - maybe someone in the audience laughs, or claps, or notices us. Perhaps we'd be luckier if they did not. This is life's story and in it we all play our little ones, interacting for a minute, or day, or year and then continuing on our own way.

The Story might end, someday. Perhaps it must, in order to mean anything. But we can get glimpses of the little stories, and perhaps get meaning out of them. Stella tries to join the LJR, Summer forgives Barry because Rick reveals that Barry truly wants to help Adam, Arthur and Wesley convince John Smith to free the city - glimpses of the Story made manifest.

But there is no ever after, even if there is happiness. Things are resolved, a day ends, truths are known ... perhaps they are endings of sorts, if we see them that way. And maybe, if we're lucky, they could even be beginnings, if any story can be said to begin, or any story really end.

IN TIME OF WAR, THE LAW FALLS SILENT. Learn that. Its a fact of life. - Anonynmous IRCer [Thursday, April 11th 2002]
Game Session 15 (ArthurQ, Caltak, WarezBert - EXP: 17 each)

"Good morning, Boston. This is Jesse Samuel for the Boston News, Channel 34. We're reporting the news from earlier today and because we're just doing our jobs we might not be doing them again.

"For the confused, the cities more controversial radion station, The Beat, was closed this morning while one of their DJ's was talking callers about the Super Heroes with an intern. Apparently people hearing it at schools began debating it and it was difficult to restore order. The "hero" called Wrath was seen stopping a potential fight at Someville High. While reports are sketchy, 12 ambulances left the scene. The National Guard arrived and ordered the radio station to stop broadcasting. When they refused, the national guard attempted to shoot the DJ in question.

"The next results were rather noticable, since somehow the shut off equipment broadcasted the conversation - the veracity of which hasn't been confirmed yet, but basically had the DJ saying the Guardsmen would be court martialed. They ordered him to desist (again) and attempted to shoot everyone in the office according to the cries of shock over the various radios and TVs somehow commandeered to broadcast that over the city. None of the guns tfired seemed to work and people spoke of a flash of white light before whatever had control of the communications stopped.

"Even more disturbing, demonstrators clashed with the National Guard in front of City Hall. Hostilities were averted by some of the city heroes. While the city has not commented, Mr. Mayor has agreed to a meeting with the anti-super human demonstrators later today.

"As events in the city unfold, news of them is needed. People shouldn't be prey to every rumour: we need discourse, not the high and mighty National Guard interfering. [Off camera: "Who'd be evading war duty if we had a war, Jesse!"] If the guards want to help the city, they can let people speak! We plan to continue reporting the news that happens as it happens here! We're not going to give you rumours, but we're not going to be silenced."

And also, the second installment of Wendall's diary.

Also, Jameson's Speech to the Protestors, preserved here for pure irony:

Jameson: "I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our city, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. Even though large tracts of the city and many old and famous Buildings have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Evil ones and all the odious apparatus of the "heroes", we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our City, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender!"

"In starting and waging a war it is not right that matters, but victory."
- Adolph Hitler, 1939.

"A is for Apocalype, B is for Bungle, C is for Chaos, D is for Destruction..." [Thursday]
Game Session 16 (ArthurQ, Baliadoc, Caltak, Darkkin, Gemm, WarezBert - EXP: 40 (Caltak, Darkkin, Gemm, WarezBert); 17 (ArthurQ, Baliadoc))

Alcar's Guide On How to Run GM Survive Watch Crumble into Bits a Game Session: Campaign:

As well as that incident, Void ended up encountering Ulysses while trying to get Tracy and his friends out of the police station. Void managed to drop the building on Ulysses in order to stop him. He ended up at the scene of devastation StarChild etc. had left outside the LJR recruiting centre and was found by some reporters when a strange wave of force from the East struck him and cancelled out his powers. They were undeniably shocked to see somehow had survived.

"And I only am alone escaped to tell thee ..." (Job 1:19)

Oh, yes, and Wesley talked to his father, but that was really Wednesday night so it shouldn't cont. As RL got in the way, he ended up getting sick on the food and spent Thursday morning sick in bed. So there :p

Know Thyself .... And Run Away Screaming. [Thursday, April 11th 2002]
Game Session 16 (ArthurQ, Baliadoc, Caltak, Chaos, Darkkin, Dog, WarezBert - EXP: 25 WarezBert and Darkkin; 20 everyone else)

"With the return of Boston after two days abscence from the world, the White House began making plans to send in a elite task force known as the Peace Makers to try and find out what had happened there and why that city was a focal point of super human activity. Sadly, Congress did not react in time.

"The city of Boston has been blasted by some radiation and according to recent estimates fully a third of those living in it are dead and another third have been stricken with fatal cancers as a result. The cause of this is unknown but all powers in the country ceased working an hour before the event, adding to it's mystery.

"The President, currently busy in the Middle East and trying to deal with the African sitation, was horrified. A full-scale inquiry is being sent into Boston and the president has vowed that this act of super human terrorism will be avenged. 'Whoever crippled this city was obviously evil and not human.'

"Americans accross the country are expressing their outrage and the detainment of any super hero in the country hs become law. 'If they do not surrender to the authorities, they will be killed,' President Bush said. 'We have seen what these people are, and they are simply Bin Laden with Satanic powers. They must be stopped from spreading their reign of terror.'

"According to a Gallup poll, 83% of Americans agree with the President that the super human threat must be curtailed. Most are reluctant to act until the details of the Boston situation become clear, but the massive radiation deaths did prevent a city-wide descent into anarchy, likely by mistake.
- ABC NEWS, Thursday 1 pm Edition.

Or, put another way: Void and StarChild tried to stop the rioters with Heat + Radiation + No Testing = Bad Experiment. A Dog and Bloodhound managed to intervene somewhat, but not as much as they'd have liked. Barry and Rick saved some lives in their own way as well. Arthur got put in Stasis by Rick for his actions as he seems to feel no remorse while StarChild did.

But thats a much more boring summary, don't you thiknk?

"... to be the darkness and light of mankind." [Thursday]
Game Session 17 (ArthurQ, Caltak, Darkkin, Gemm - EXP: 22 (ArthurQ, Caltak), 25 (Darkkin, Gemm))

A woman is standing by an ocean, waiting for someone to come home. Always and ever, the women wait for the men to come home, or their children. But this ocean is the oldest of all the oceans that never were, and she stands in a place that is no place, in no things that are not nothing, for all things strive, and change and --
A man is standing beside her. She almost turns, then says “I did not expect you here.” Her voice is cool and remote, perhaps carrying a hint of the water in it.
“He has not come.” The man’s voice held no emotion.
“It is a long journey.” Her voice was not defensive. It also held no emotion. “He has made it before, and I have waited.” After a time, “I was born of the waves, you know. And other things, in other times.” He knew. “He came back. Not from Uruk, but be came back here. I would know why.”
“I did find him, lady. We spoke.”
The woman turns from the ocean, her hair brilliant in sunlight and eyes blazing with power. “I saw a whirlpool form of death in the ocean, brought on by power such as not been done since Atlantis fell. Seeking is close to secrets. Tell me.”
Her voice is harsh and cold, fury and passion. He is a mystery even to mysteries, but there are some things endings stronger than the journey to them. The Finder of Seekers steps backwards. “I did not know you had power for that.”
The woman glows, for a moment even lightning the waters of the ocean. “I do not.”
The Finder smiles, then. “So he can save you from death, instead of you saving him, O Lady? Poetic. Very well. You are deeper than I, now, with stolen power and a name Re thought you had forgotten faces ago. He met him, on earth. The splendours were raised, and quelled.”
The woman stands still for a long time. “There is a bull then?” He nods. “I would not send it. Not now.”
“It is no matter. The one he fought still lives though dead and even she does not see why. There are forces moving in that world, almost as deep as their Real can get. Even the adversaries, if they truly be, would not plan this chaos. They will raise up the Country again, in a land that cannot bear it.” There was no reply. “They seek to bring the dead to life.”
“A pooling of the dead? It is not possible. It is not allowed.”
“Who allows? Who forbids?”
The woman turned back to the ocean. “We can't any longer,” she said after a long time. “Our age has passed. And our power.”
“You had enough to compel me, Lady. And I will ask a boon of you soon, before your ending. Perhaps you can make up for what was done, to all three of them.”
The woman stills, mouthing ‘Three?’ Even he can’t interpret her expression, but she has annoyed him, so: “And to her, for your theft,” The finder finished, then he is gone, leaving a woman alone by an ocean. Her voice is very soft. “I must forsake the vigil.” There is pain in it, and the oldest fear of all: change. “I will walk the earth one last time, and make amends.” The ocean does not reply and no voice is heard from the far shore.

Arthur - realising what he and Stella have done - attempts to get Bender to send him back in time (or try to). Bender refuses and Stell and Void (Rage) fight. Void flies by overhead and Void ends up meeting Void who claims to be from the future. Both voids go back to Stellas but the new Void attempts to use force and hurt Stella's family. Bender sends him into the sun and Void, trying to track Void, somehow cancels Voids power and prevents Void from returning so the sun kills void.*

Void and Stella argue and both end up in the Sun, who chastises them and informs Void She never talks to Void in the future but refuses to speak of what has happened. Meanwhile, Bender is attacked by someone and flees the world just before StarChild and Void return as Barry arrives as well.

I'm not even going to get into Conflict and Carrions actions.

* This could quite possibly be one of the most interesting versions of suicide.

"When you can do nothing, what can you do?" - Zen Koan [Thursday]
Game Session 18 (ArthurQ, Caltak, Chaos, Darkkin - EXP: 20 each)

Stealing money from microsoft, Void melts Stella's computer.

Attempting to find Bender, Void, Barry and StarChild enter the Other World. While Bender isn't there, Void's power becoming magic (and causing wild surges) and some vengeful druids trying to kill StarChild make Barry decide they should go back home.

Meanwhile, the city of Boston has been fixed on the superficial level. The bodies of the dead seem to have vanished and the buildings are all fixed. Surprisingly, the mayor and the govenrment officials all survived and Jenny answered some of the mayor's questions about what happened to the city as best she could.

(That was a nice short summary just for Chaos :))

"It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong." (Voltaire) [Thursday, still]
Game Session 19 (ArthurQ, Caltak, Darkkin - EXP: 12 each)

Void decides to fly to the middle east and capture Bin Laden. StarChild convinces him to talk to the president for permission first.* Summer is shocked that she thinks Bush would say no. The Peace Makers arrive, Stella and Bender meet them. Void makes it tio the white house, and a really snotty kid basically tells him to get lost.

* StarChild never did pay attention to politics much :)

Another short session description for Chaos :)

It's useful that there should be Gods, so let's believe there are. (Ovid) [Guess what? It's still Thursday!]
Game Session 20 (ArthurQ, Baliadoc - EXP: 30 each)

Void returns to himself from the holgram only to find a woman who claims to be Ishtar beside him. She tells him she made his power and says she wants to know his plains and that it is better to choose love over war. Void says he's just here to get Bin Laden. Bloodhound arrives (flying, no less) and Void gets away from him prudently. Sensing some communications underground, Void goes under the earth while Bloodhound and Ishtar talk for a little bit.

Void finds Bin Laden in an underground bunker with some American soldiers, who are apparently hiding him under orders from Bush and, according to the AI MKEXTRA 101, the orders of the people who really run the US government.

Void goes back to the surface and tells Bloodhound to leave. Bloodhound, busy beating up some soliders, ignores him and gets some bombs dropped near him but survives.

Void contacts the whitehouse again, but the kid in the oval office refuses to believe Void's story. Void, sensing for powers, senses Void is there as well .... an exact duplicate of him, mind and all.

To sum it up:
<Void``> If thats really me, then i should know all my own tricks, and be able to go around them..... I reappear
<AlcarGM> You don't get through. You seem to know you know your tricks so you're stoppig yourself from getting around them.
<AlcarGM> This is getting wonderfully surreal :)
<Void``> GAH!!!!!!!!
<Void``> STOOOOOOOOOP!!
* Void`` goes nuts
<Void``> (DAMMIT ALCAR STOP THAT! ITS NO FAIR!)

Bloodhound arrives back at Boston, and the Skipper (one of the two Peace Makers their) flees, for unknown reasons. Void returns as well and the PCs are reunited!

On the plus side, if late night sessions continue to be this strage, no player will want to play one again :p

Who can force peace? [Thursday, April 11th, 2002]
Game Session 21 (ArthurQ, Baliadoc, Caltak, Darkkin - EXP: 40 each )

The Peace Makers (Weaponsmith, Lucky Jim (Whose coming almost kills the Skipper) and Seer tell the PCs that Boston has become a focal point in metahuman relations. The falling out between Bloodhound and Void reaches a critical mass and only the invervention of Jesa Moonheart, a healer, managed to prevents deaths by pointing out Bloodhound was asked of Void soemthing he was not willing to accept Void could give: trust. As Jesa said, "When someone is pushed to a wall, they have to choose. ... But they become what we want them to be, or what they think we want. You have destroyed your own trust in him." Bloodhound let Void go, after warnign the PCs that safety may be an illusion, but some illusions are necessary.

Void returned home and found Tracy wasn't there, owing to an odd infestation of Zombies living in his place. He cleanses them out and finds Tracy safe in a boarding house. Bloodhound goes home to find Barkley telling him someone's in his bedroom, sleeping. It turns out to be Wendall who, terrified of his powers, asks Bloodhound to remove them. He does so.

The calm before the storm [Friday, April 12th, 2002]
Game Session 22 (Arthur Q, Caltak, Darkkin - EXP: 25for Void, 20 for Barry, 10 for Stella)

The city seems to have calmed down, people accepting it's rebuilding and the return of the death with an equinamity only possible because they have no other choice :p

Void meets another duplicate of himself (this one arabic and more powerful than him :p). Bloodhound arrives to help defeat it in time.

Void stops a cthulu-esque creatue from possessing a boy (the dangers of selling RPGs...) and receives a visit from John Smith about his healing of the city, and a warning:
* Barry^Mugan smirks "John you've done your bit messenger boy begone"
<AlcarGM> John Smith doesn't smile at that. "Tell it to the others, when you're done with your delusions of being a puppet master. it is the only warning we are giving."
<AlcarGM> He vanishes.
<Barry^Mugan> "Maybe next time he will speak more on who they are"
<Barry^Mugan> "Like we plan on following the warnings of those we don't know of"
<Barry^Mugan> "Give the power yet do not give the rule book"
<Barry^Mugan> "Such petty planing"

Barry then fights himself and creates a rift in space and battle within it against himself. The rift pours out more enrgy that Void can possibly absorb and 2 more clones of him arrive and are destroyed by the energy. Starchild succeeds in shielding a good portion of the normal people from it. One of the Barry's flies into the Rift, closing it, and a Voice comes out of it asking WHY and a few other things. It seems the Barry that went in responded right, because the planet didn't blow up or anything. The other Barry vanished.

As well, to make things even more fun, Wesley got together with Felix (and then Lance) and found out about a magical club sacrificing people with Power called the 11/7 club (due to its hours from 11pm to 7am).

"We're going clubbing!" [Friday, April 12th, 2002]
Game Session 23 (Arthur Q, Baliadoc, Caltak, Chaos, Darkkin, Gemm - EXP: 45 each)

Void, Skipper, Lance, Bloodhound, Jessie and Jenny meet at ta bar run by 5 mages who want to sacrifice a succubus. What could go wrong? Let's see ... the pcs could use "magic" as the doro key and frighten the mages. Done. Ok, they could break up the ritual and let the creature escape. That works. They could get attacked by Undead Skeletons ... Ok. That can happen to. Have an NPC fight it with and 2 copies of himself hit and blow the place up. Sure, after the skeletons logic is gone anyhow.

And, for an encore, let the building remake itself after the PCs leave to talk to the police and have an npc and void try and blow it up again! Guess what, that happened too? Hmm. Ok. Let's get really odd. Let's have Stella take the succubus HOME with her, Bloodhound meet with Barry and feel the anger of the city at Barry and Void be invited into the Peace Makers. Wow. And some sessions are, like, almost normal.

Interlude. [Saturday, April 13th, 2002]
Game Session 24 (Arthur Q - EXP: 20)

Weaponsmith takes the unconscious Seer (the magic used by the 11/7 club knocked her out) and Void to their current headquarters, in a Kansas corn field. Void gets told the basic charter, gives some information and get sosme in return (like that the bombers hitting at Bloodound and the soldiers above Bin Laden's hidehout apparently killed Bloodhoud ..). He goes back and Lucky Jim is ordered to go with him to bring some of the other pcs to them.

Jim's First Solo Mission: F- [Saturday, April 13th, 2002]
Game Session 24 (Arthur Q, Baliadoc, Caltak, Chaos, Darkkin - EXP: 55)

Barry has an interesting arguement with John Smith over his action in Boston and manages to trap Smith. With Barry leaving the city, the city returns to it's riot-ruined state. The people accept it with a numbness borne of far too much change in far to short a time.

Trying to stop it proves futile and Barry remains elusive so the PCs join Jim (after Jiim stops running in terror from Bloodhound) and head to Kansas.

It's all over and I'm standin' pretty / In this dust that was a city" [Saturday, April 13th, 2002]
Game Session 25 (Arthur Q, Baliadoc, Caltak, Chaos, Darkkin - EXP: 40)

The PCs and Peace Makers all meet. Bloodhound reveals he can take power away as a means of stopping the human/super human war that seems almost inevitable. However, his attempt to take Jim's power by force fails as he can't do it without killing Jim. In returning it he also returns some other taken powers by mistake.

To make matters worse, the Undead attack the compound. During the battle Void retrieves a sword he stuck on the moon and returns to find waste as someone panicks and drops a nuke on the cornfield.

Stella, trying to absorb excess radiation, fires it off skyward. A critical state is reaches, and the Russians panic and nuke Washington DC and Moscow is nuked in return. The planes who dropped the nukes expode other northern Kansas so no one knows who really ordered the srtrike ..

To quote Seer: "More than that....." very quietly. "It's seeped into the ground. Nothing will grow for years, the water become comanimated in this entire continent." her voice is dull, monotnous. "The world stock market will collapse. The rioting will destroy New York more than any foreigners ever could. The same with Hong Kong. China's army's will march."
"Already the market closes. It's been seen, what happened here. Intent and consenquece. The orders have been given in China. In Japan, they rejoice to see the americans tastig their own medicine, but already are beginning to get people to help, remembering. Israel, bereft of it;'s ally, prepares for war with the middle east. Europe is in shock. They're killing the heroes. Africa is dying."
"The heroes are dying, and being asked to save them. Save us, they're saying to their newly named gods even as they crucify us all."

Master J, for reasons known only to him, destroys the other nukes en route to the rest of the world. The world economy is dying however, and a full scale global collapse seems almost inevitable.

Fleeing Kansas, all concerned parties ended up at Boston to find the city empty save for the dead Barry had raised who were dead again. None of the living remained save one pot-smoking fellow named Bob who seems to have some advice to offer ....

It is the beginning ... of the end ... of the beginning.

"If I could find a souvenier / Just to prove the world was here..." [Saturday, April 13h, 2002]
Game Session 26 (Not Played Yet)

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