Allan, Max and Edmund go toe to toe with a couple of enemies and their little dogs too.
Actual Play begins at 1:06
Knights of the Night
KOTN Actual Play Podcast 67: "Delivery - First Blood"
(upbeat music) - Hello and welcome to Night to the Night Actual Play podcast. This Dresden Files story, delivery, was written and run by a GM Tom. And now, please enjoy episode 67, titled First Blood. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Okay, let's start our guessing files adventure, session two of delivery. I am the GM Tom and on my left is. - John playing Roberto Martinez. Guardian equivalent empowered by a following agent. Thomas playing Maxwell Edison and undercover FBI. Scott playing London deals, and a moral sear to the supernatural. - I am John playing Edmund Shadowski, a new age black court private investigator. - This is Mike playing Alan Montgomery, Warden who's the new sheriff in town. - Okay, and since we're starting a new session, we should go over the minor milestones. You have the ability to switch skills, stunts, spend, refresh on new stunts and powers, or rename one of your aspects. Any one of those choices you guys can make if you want to do a slight adjustment to your character. - I'm changing my name. - Yeah, that's not one of the options. You can only do one minor adjustment. So Jim, you wanted to make a minor milestone change. - Skill change. - Yes. - I wanted to change a good ending average kind of skip. - They're not adjacent, but he doesn't think his character is balanced. - Yeah, it's fine. We're in the second session, and so I'm perfectly fine with rearranging your character in any way that fits better into how your character is. - How many aspects should you have listed under the aspects thing? And you got your high, your trouble, and your others should get more than one other. - Five. - Yeah. - Five, six. - There was a total of seven. Where we left off last week was kind of a cliffhanger, but before we get to that, I want to go back really quick and visit with London. London is where? - We're driving our baby act, like Dave DuVin in Coventry, myself, and Mr. Rodriguez. - Okay. - So you're sitting on the table, having a glass of wine? - I'm probably in a seeming again, 'cause this is a hangout of mine, and I can't obviously be myself here because I'm being chased or hunted down. So I have a seeming to look as if I'm someone else. Because I only hired Mr. Rodriguez after everything went down. He wasn't an employee of mine before him. They would not recognize him as a retainer or a bodyguard of mine. - Okay. - So I'm there drinking wine, and I'm drinking a type that normally London would not have drank, but not swill like we had at West Side. - Just, you know, maybe you're a white wine kind of guy, you're drinking some red wine. - Right, exactly. Kind of changing it up a little bit. Different table that I would normally be sitting at. Look, Dave DuVin is very dark, very moody, very atmospheric. There's probably a jazz quartet playing in the background. Life, 'cause it's classical, cool like that. And that's where I'm at right now, waiting for everyone to reconnoiter at this location. - Okay. - You're sipping, you have one hand, you have your glass of wine, and you're listening to the jazz band play, and kind of reflecting back on what got you into this mess, and what went so wrong. - Right. - And your other hand kind of dips into your pocket and pulls out and flicking it over your knuckles and dancing back and forth. You have that vial that you were given originally. You're still holding onto it. - Right. - Just kind of drifting back and thinking about what occurred and led up to this. And the second trace that you were told to do, you did get a reading, it did work out correctly. In fact, knowing that they wanted you to just tell them where this person was, you kind of went through the motions anyways, and traced the person to a house to verify. And then you went back and gave them the information, and that's just where it went, very, very bad. - Right. - As you sit there and listen to the music and twiddle with your fingers, we will go back to the other group, which you guys are at. - We are at the office of William Donovan, which was built into the old aviation high school on the north coast of Cleveland, Calgary County, over there in north of route two to the east to work like for an airport, so it's fairly secluded, at least to come residential, it's an industrial area, more or less. And we've just seen a shadowy figure myself and Maxwell and an Edmund. We saw a shadowy figure of a person enter the door and then two animal like, well, two creatures or two animals, oh, it's not clear if they're dogs or if there's something supernatural. We're racing toward us through the pools of street life. - All right, the parking lot and the surrounding areas of the building are one zone that you guys are in. These things are moving in the same zone toward you. The person that was standing outside the doorway broke and went inside the building, which is obviously another zone. - You mean like, broke in a hurry or just? - Yes, broken in a hurry. - All right, yes. - So they're spotted you turned and ran into the building. - Okay. - They're moving a gesture to the creatures which start to charge. - And do we have a view of the creatures or they just appear shadowy and fast? - They do appear. They're black dog like the size of a mastiff. - Right. - Who are dark and shadowy and not in the middle of the parking lot, lots of lights, and they're shadowy, it's just the area they're coming from. - Okay. - It's a darkened area. - So there's nothing clear that they're supernatural. They could be just well-trained dogs, right, so far. - They're moving very, very fast for dogs. - And humanly fast for dogs? - I wouldn't tell you so. - Okay, so that's a clue. - I respond by, oh, I'm sorry you need alertness or-- - What we decided-- - For initiative. - You take your alertness and roll the fade dyson at it so that there's a little bit of randomness too. - How you're responding for a particular-- - Just not each turn. - Each end counter. - Each end counter. - This encounter will have this adjustment. - Okay. - We currently have Maxwell. - Yeah. - You are the fastest tied with Alan and what did you each roll? - I'm good. - I know how to work. - Would you give you a total of-- - Okay, sorry. - I achieved a superb-- - Oh. - I was good and rolled too. - So we have Alan going first. - I'm good, I got three in total. - Alan will use one of his road spells called 4-H-O-A-R. This is a nice attack. - That's true. - And it's a nice attack and it's going to be a block. - I'm attempting to either freeze them or ice 'em up or slow 'em down or somehow block and contain them in a-- It's two shifts of power to cover multiple allies in the same zone so there's two and I am going to give it two more shifts for-- - So what's the end effect that you're trying to do? - I'm basically trying to contain and block them. Not necessarily hurt them, but I just wanted to stop them from moving and immobilize them with them. - Wow, go ahead, Alan. - All right, so I cast my spell and then my-- Hey, with a plus one to the discipline row, so that's a discipline of five or four shifts. - You have to roll over that to get out of the zone. - Like if you have a wall. - Two, but they don't know how easy it is. - They were headed towards them, right? - Tech. - They're on the same zone? - Yes. - They're already in your zone? - Well, then wouldn't they, wouldn't my spell like block or contain them? So they can't attack them from attack? - I'm trying to block them. - This is a block in the shielding as Alice. - Yeah, that's what I was a little bit confused about. Blocking them from leaving there, they don't want to leave. They want to stay here and attack. - I'm trying to block your attack. - Blocking their attack, or I'm trying to immobilize them is what I'm trying to do. - Okay, after Alan is the house, you place up a block of ice. The features move next, there are two of them. They seem to be moving relatively fast, like I mentioned, at a human speed, and the-- - Right into the ice wallet. - Are also working in conjunction, as one breaks left and one breaks to the right. And they hitch your ice sheet. And it attempts to get to you since you're on the front. - Is there a closet like this like we do? They try to stash it and it's like right into it. - Uh-oh. - Yes indeed. - Go right into it. - The first one comes in with claws and teeth bear shattering the ice, going right through it. The attack on you, Alan and Mr. Warden, is a superb attack. - With the-- - The cock-lock has got some light, Mr. (laughs) - It overrides the block. He uses it as a defense, it fails. The ice shatters, it comes right through. Now you have to use your natural defenses to get out of it, which is to say an athletic role, or fist, your choice. 'Cause it is coming. An attack with fist being claws and teeth. - It has to be fist candy weapons? - Yeah, I would allow weapons. I mean, you draw your sword as it comes flying in. - The silver warden sword, which you know, rings true, and lets everyone in love with a supernatural nature know that bad ass-free is about to commence. I must be the superb attack. - I think the thought is fist is natural, weapons is artificial. - Yeah, makes sense to me. - All right. - Come on, big closet. - Yeah! - Yeah, I like it. - Oh my God, a legendary defense, I guess. - Very nice. - Oh, can I draw the sword and win smooth motion? Cut it off. - Lock it, cut it off. - Why? - I think each other had a shaft in it. - It was a legendary defense. - It was a good thing. - I don't have a problem with this good thing. - Except not when I was with him. - Well, there's that slight problem. - I think it will be a legendary. - Something legendary. - A legendary atmosphere. - A legendary is very nice. - Oh my God, I agree. - Lock it, set it off. - But I think it's a spin force. - So, Mike, you're a valon. Your success was so legendary. - Legendary. That I'd like you to describe it to me. And what you're doing in doing this is you get an additional plus one on your next attack action. You're setting up the creature to be hit much more efficiently. - Okay, then what happens is I see this creature found through my spell and shattering through the ice quite nastly and this concerns me, but calmly I draw my silver sword of the wardens. I take the pommel or handle of the sword and just plant it in the same smooth motions and I'm drawing it out and just poke 'em right between the eyes, bring it in as hard as I can, and just stone him so he will be easier to attack at the next moment. And I just stop him dead and midly. And it's like, not today. - The immediate next player then gains a plus one or a minus one to attacking this creature right now. This is the right next action taken in the exchange. - Spin flows to the next character. - The next character, and if it's a bad guy, you get to minus one or the plus one. So Alan did really awesome, so I didn't get to do anything. - No, actually the other creature gets to go. - Unfortunately, he did really rather well as he comes from the left side, shattering his ice shield as well, moving through it. He attacks you with a superb hit as well, but your blow to the first one stunted and caused it to skitter sideways, which trips up this dog as it comes into attack you and causes it to drop down to a great attack instead of superb. - So now I must defend against the other next person. - Yes, in this case, it's only great instead of superb. - Well, hopefully I can pull up another four. - No, not so much. That takes it down to a good. - And good being less than great, causes three points of physical stress to you. - Yes. - One for the value, plus two for the weapon. - You're not marking up three, you're marking up the third box just to be clear. And it is now Edmond's turn. - I think I'm just gonna punch it. - Okay. You just come in low, charging at the creature and swing for the head. - Yeah. - Does Edmond have claws? - I do not have claws. - Edmond is a clone and that would be pretty weird. - Oh, you guys. - More. - So I'm six. - Fantastic. - Fantastic attack against, we will say, dog on the left. - As you are standing to the left of. - When I wait, before I would try to take an aspect, try to bump it or no. - You can, you can wait to see whether it's even next there or not. It's response is support, which means you will do one point of stress to him unless you want to up it. - Plus strength, I wanna not know my own strength and hit it harder. - Okay. - So how do I do that? Do I have this kind of? - You would spend a fake point and say, I don't know my own strength and I'm gonna hit it harder. - And then that takes it up to three. What did you say, Tom? - This inhuman toughness gives them weapons too. - My inhuman strength gives me that. - Strength, the human strength. - This weapons too. To any insect derives damage from power. - So your inhuman strength in addition to that gives it total number of five stress boxes. This feature does not have five stress boxes, so it really helps. So it will take a minor consequence. - Well, let me know. - Oh. - I did that. - For a minute. - For a minute. - For a minute. - For a minute. - Yeah, that's a little more than minor. - That's what he knows would be minor. - Maybe. - I don't know. That's a talk. They kind of need peanuts. - It's got a nice job. - That's an open wound. - That's bleeding. - Which would not be a bad. - Punch that. - That's what I showed you. (laughing) - You don't, I know. - That's right. - You have a freeze to risk. - The skin whirples, and it was like. - Shh. - Jeez. - Yeah. - You're a really nasty head. I wasn't some teeth. - All right. - Needs to see the teeth. - They'll say a busted teeth, and you can also give it a description if you wanna watch this happen. But the consequence of to it is you know, you broke some of the teeth and it's-- - It went up the road and you punched it and I'll show. - Yeah, maybe you bit itself or one of his teeth. - This is the one that was biting him, right? - Right. - So it was out of his arm and he punched it off, his arm snips his teeth off, his arm and got him to let go. And then it's sprawling and did some damage to it. And then we go to back home. - Who runs away, that's probably actually good. - Okay, shoot anybody? - No, I'm running. - Back to the guy. - Well, the guy who ran away did, is just one zone into the building or I'm not aware. - He's in the building and you don't know. - That I'll run. - Why not? - I'm really good at running. - Okay. - I would've mentioned the door into the building would be at the end of this zone that we're currently in. - Yes. - That would only be one zone. - And does my ice spell injure you anyway? - What do you think? - No, you were making a specific block around the creatures they broke through. - All right, I'm going to take my movements. Yeah, I take a movement and then do something like that. And now I'm gonna step through the door. - Okay. - Into the room building that the guy just ran into. See if I can see him in there. - This is the parking lot here. You step into the door here, you see another door on the far end closing. And over here you see a window as if it's some sort of receptionist area that you might talk through the window to someone. It's dark in there. - Can you still turn this into a sprint? - Giving up a supplemental action to run full sprint this time? - Yeah, you could change this into a sprint but it would be your entire action for the turn. - Yeah, I won't care about that. I can't do anything in this hole. - Oh, is that at the end of the sprint? You could tackle. - I can. - That would be another action though. - Oh, that's magic. - Oh, that's magic. - No, I have a thing for walking one zone and then spending my supplemental action for a block, you know, it's a big complicated thing. I'll explain it when I do it. - Shoot all the sprints. I rolled negative one, which as to my athletics has occurred to make great. I can move four zones. I already moved one, so I'll step past that door. - You walk into the main door and you see someone off to your left at a big desk. By flying through it, she is a female. Dark hair, relatively unlooking. And the guy, person you were chasing, is midway across the big room to a second door and he's yelling at the female. - I get in front of him and don't do anything 'cause I can't block his way through the door. - I'm in front of you. - I'm faster. - Damn, I'm not prepared for this. - All right. - He is yelling something to the female on the lines of we got company. - I just threw something to the place. - Oh wait, I'm already here. - Back to the top of the order with Alan. - Now that I'm up close on these creatures and they're right next to me, am I, do I recognize them? - Yes, and you believe they are hellhounds. - Hellhounds? - No more than you do. - Oh there, doesn't sound promising. - No, he's dead. No more than he's dealt with them before. - And since you just said that, does that mean I know what their weaknesses are and what would be a good trick to use to either the stone or the floor? - Yeah. - I think that would be funny. But he said I thought of them before. (laughing) - He never took notes. - He didn't even find them very well. - He just heard a lot of class. - My lore. I quickly think, how did the ability teach me to fight these things? Nice. - Wow, look at this. - That is epic. - Oh, and it comes to me in a flash of, yes. - These creatures are definitely pack animals and you wanna try to separate and conquer them. They move very fast, but they can be taken out just like any other animal, but they are very good trackers. If they're sent after someone, they can hunt them down. - But you're pack animals and it's fair to, - Divide and conquer. - Divide. All right, well, is there, I don't have any moral function about killing them, right? They're not our hellhounds. - Absolutely not, there's no running of them. - I just wanna make sure that I buy animals in the name. - I am by the book and-- - Books is killing them. - The books is that I don't have to hold off on you, so the one that I had dazed in, I believe I get a, it's a plus one, or did we use that plus one too? - That was used as a minus one. - Gotcha. - The next one. - And then I-- - I love a five. There is one that has been hurt. - Yes. - It has a consequence and if you attack that one. - But I didn't, I didn't-- - You know, that doesn't mean you can't use it. - But I don't have a pay point to spend on that. I thought I could only do that for free if I'm the one that inflicted on it. - No. - Or-- - I remember that too. - The reflector gives it to you. - I remember that as well. - Yeah, the influenceor can allow you to-- - Oh, okay. - Oh, whatever. - So I've been saying go for the-- - Yeah, okay. - All right, I'm gonna attack the wounded hellhound and set it back to its kennel down below. All right, strike. - That is a fantastic attack with my silver sword, whatever. - Fortunately, his defense was merely great. - I've beaten his defense by two. Does that add anything to your defense? - Did you add in the-- - No, I didn't. - Oh, you gave me plus two for that? - Oh, I apologize. That kicks up the legendary attack. - A legendary attack. - Yeah, back in town. This is my place when I come to clean it up. How do you like me now? - I think my place too bad. (laughing) - So that's four you're gonna do. And weapons three adds three more. That's a seven, an equivalent of an epic damage to this creature, which is far greater than the number of-- - Maybe I have a lightsaber. - Which is far greater than the amount of damage that this particular creature can take. So please describe to me how you take this creature. - So it's a kill? - Out. - Well, you take it out, your choice. You know, if you wanna like take it to the dog petal and find a nice home for it. - No, I'm sorry, the hella hounds don't worry. Hellhounds don't worry in my world. And with skill, elegance, and speed, I sever the head off the one hellhound. It's hot blood spewing like lava, sparks, falling onto the concrete floor, leaving a stain. I'll collect that for a material component Slater. - Can I have him useful? - What the hell? - Max would have fought, but he's wrong. - There. - Wow. - You're fizzin' real though. (laughing) - Fizzy with the real bone. - Well though. - It's a beautiful step. - It's like the best of him. (laughing) - The other hellhound is just apparently cowed by the attack that you've done. And he attempts to lunge at you, but manages only an average attack. - He's cowed. - He's cowed. - Is it's tail between it's leg? Is it one of them? - No, I think so. - Does it show me it's belly? - Not at all. - It's stab it. - It's still attacking, but it's only getting an average one in the air as it's-- - Okay. - It seems to be-- - I must defend-- - Facing in an athletic-- - Spreadable wire. - I can use my weapon to defend, correct? - Yes. - I use my weapon to defend, to parry as well. Yikes, no. I only do a great defense. - It was only an average attack. - That is still good enough to give a spin. It comes at you, but unfortunately it's claws are slipping in the blood of it's completion. It's just, as it lunges at you, you just step aside and allow it to plow into the car that you just recently got out of. - My work here is gone. Once again, leaving it slightly stunned, it is now administered. - Wait, what about those guys in the room with me? - Oh, that's right. - So they moved it. - They do move. - So the gentleman you chased into the building continues to go out the door and on his way. - So I got in the front of him and he just like pushed me aside, kept going. - No, no. He attempted to push you aside. - I didn't block. - No, he rolled poorly. And in shoving you out of the way-- - Slams into the door. - Yeah. - You have to open it? - No, not something else about his step. I'm close enough. He fails to make his way through the door. The female at the desk, however, his is at you. - His? - No. - And you see, thanks, it's not normal. - Neither of these things are normal. - She vaults over the desk, grabs the hold of your shoulder and throws you into the wall. - I don't know if I can roll athletics for that. - You can try to recover from it, her. - She just does it, you can't dodge. - Her attack is fantastic. - Don't break your spine into it. - It's as powerful as that. - Slams off the wall and lands on his feet. - Oh! - My defense is legendary. No, it's not, it's actually epic. But anyway, higher than fantastic. With my Supreme Athletics, I hit the wall and then roll back in front of him. - Okay, then it is your turn. - She goes to shove against the wall. You get that run up the wall, flip over. - I've been thrown into tougher walls. Dom you? - Head man, it is your turn. - I'm up. - How'd you get the dog in the face? - All right. Now, it is slipped in the blood and fallen, so you get a plus one on your attack. (metal clanking) But I got a minus one, so it's all even. - So that would be great. - Just a break. - It's defense was just good. So you did manage to tag it for a bit of damage. - Free. - Free. - I thought it was one, I forgot for your adjustment. So yes, it is three. And then we go to Maxwell. - Do you bring my gun today? - Do you normally bring your gun? - I don't know if I was expecting detector work because I went on after the job. - You were detecting, you were going in searching places. - Yeah, we didn't exactly go back to the office. - You want to just spend a feed point and say you have a gun? - Well. - You only have six of them. Hang on. - I have my gun today. - Give me a gun roll to determine whether or not you have your gun on this fine day. - Do you ever bring your other pant pocket? - I only have a gun to go to. - And you rolled a minus one. I was gonna say your chances of having a gun were fair, which is two. Unfortunately, you rolled a average. - And you have a fair noise to travel. - All right. - Which is my trouble. I probably shouldn't be able to use it in such fashion. - Sure you can. - So yes, you did bring your gun today. - Oh my God. - Fancy a little, never action shotgun. And. (laughing) - I don't have a gun. - I don't have a gun, it's always shotgun. (laughing) - Oh yeah, I forgot my shotgun. - Oh wait, this guy? (laughing) - I put my gun on. - I put my gun on. - I put my gun on. - Like. (laughing) - I cleared my common side arm with top of the foot again. So that would be up there. But yeah, that was pretty weird. (laughing) - I don't have a gun. - Oh yes I do. - Oh you mean this thing? - Yeah, it's a rock to watch me. - Give me just a click. This thing. (laughing) - All right, I draw my gun and I guess I shoot her. I mean she's right there. - Actually you have two people there. I mean, there's the guy in there. - You shoot her? - Yeah, but she's right there. She drew me in a wall. - She's good. She had fangs. It was all men or a buckling. - So I draw my weapon in the fire. But I think that counts as a supplemental action for drawing it. - No. - No? Okay, good. - Is that? - We're all action heroes here. - And I'm gonna skill this three because I'm using a shotgun. I stumped. I'm gonna attack a good. She moves out of the way with great speed. - I would imagine we hear a shotgun blast. - You're doing me. - And we are back at the top with Alan. You still have a hell hound here. You've taken a little bit of damage, but. - Oh, so he's, there's still one movement around. - Right, but he's not as damn it. I thought he was close to being forgotten. - Well, in this case, I will try to cleave this dog and put it out fast so I can hurry up and follow after Maxwell 'cause now there's gunplay and I don't like where it's going. So I will shuffle step and stab. Ooh, minus one. Actually, you already gave me a minus one because I was getting ready to move. - Yes. - And so that's another minus one. So my attack is good. - It's defense is good as well. That means you do weapon damage. - Three. - All right, which gives it a consequence of two, two point consequence. - Then how about I whack him on the muzzle and he makes his eyes smart. So he's gonna have a slower vision. - Okay. - I hit the beast, I had given him an consequence and I continue with my maneuver to go through the door. - Okay, you run up to the building, you throw up in the door and step in the hallway, you see the same thing that Maxwell saw which is a small hallway leading to another door behind it which is still slightly ajar and to your left is a window of a reception area and a blank wall to your right. - And I see two people fighting there or is he in the reception room after that? - He's in the room after this. - It is the hellhounds turn. - Does the hellhounds get to swipe at me as I leave his own? - No, but it does take after you leaving Edmund behind, busting through the door and attacking. Unfortunately, it's just a fair attack. - It's the fact that I had to bust through the door to get to you, so I slowed it down a bit. It is then your turn, Edmund. - Are you saying to get into that room is gonna be two zones, kinda? Like a lobby zone and then the room zone or? - Well, if you move one zone, which you can move for free, it puts you in the same zone as Allen and the hellhounds. If you move two, it takes you all the way to Maxwell and the van and the other guy. - There's a reason why I can't move. - You would have to roll an athletics roll and it would be the only action you take is to do that movement. - I'm gonna get slowed down anyway, so I think I'm just gonna take the dog out so he doesn't have to worry about it. - You move into the zone, then you attack, that's minus one to your attack as you're doing two actions, but the dog is slightly stunned from the last blow. You have an option of tapping that plus two if Allen would allow that. - I do allow that, in fact, I encourage it 'cause I wanna be free to pump up Maxwell. By the way, with a silver hammer. - You're minus one, but then plus two, so a total of plus one to your roll go. - Do you have a silver hammer? - I'm not gonna help you. - Maxwell's silver hammer, really. - I'm gonna leave you. - It writes themselves, man. - Straight up. - Great. - Are you a beanie spin? - Yeah, it's a huge deal. - There it is. - That's a great attack and only a fair defense does one stress plus your weapon. So that gives it three. It's three is already filled and it's maximum, so it rolls over. It can't take a mild consequence 'cause it already had it, so it goes up to the next level, which takes it out. So please describe to me how you take out the hell hub. - I run it behind it and grab it and throw it at the glass door. - Do it at the door. - Ripping it to shreds, nice, very nice. We then go to skip play. - I did, we're going to the vampire now. The gentleman you were chasing, seeing your thrown up against the wall, bolts through the door and disappears. Not the back, the door opposite of where? - Allen. - Is that extra to the street? - You don't really know. - You haven't been in this building before. The vampire, however, comes at you with supernatural speed, claws out, ripping you across the chest if possible. Her attack. - What are you feeling for me? - Her attack is fantastic. - There you go. Spent some fake points. - Oh wow. - Yeah, no, my athletics is superb and my role is good, which adds up to legendary. So I-- - Once again. - Wow. - Jump aside as her fist goes through the wall where your head was just moments ago. - I'm gonna appropriately stunt, but then I run, because it's suddenly my turn. - It is your turn? - All right, she's after the guy. - You duck her blow. - You once again are in pursuit of the gentleman. - Now because you're-- - You're doing printing. - So annoying. - He is printing. - I'm going after him. - Wow. For a total of, great, I can move four zones. - Wow. - Step out the back door. - Okay. - Four zones. - I have an, I feel like, five. - Five rolled. - I can do this. - Other than a negative one, I can move five zones. - So you bust through the door. The room behind it is a very cluttered room with stacks of paper and books and there's file cabinets everywhere. - Groups, too. - I trust you too to move through that zone and you move through that door that's open out into the back. And there you see him sprinting a few steps away from the door as you're catching up with him. - This one looks just fascinating. - He's very fast in the room walls. - Yes, supernatural speed, fantastic. Shoot it. And back to the top of the order with Alan. - Okay, I move, does this count as a zone as I'm in this hallway? I have to go through that door. Am I moving, is this a zone and then that's a zone? - You move through that door into the next zone. It's just one single zone. - Okay. So I move into there, my sword, my hand. - This is an office that you recognize. This is the office that build Donovan use often. There's this desk over there. Over in the corner, you see. - You see the woman? - Yeah, actually you know the woman. - I know her. - You do. - And I would like you. - Her name is? - Her name is Meghan Donovan. It is the daughter of William Donovan. - She was a child, we were in love. (laughing) - Our Ed writes itself. - Meghan Donovan. - Meghan Donovan. - Vampire. - Didn't used to be. I need you to make a role to not be stunned. - Stun by the fact that. - In that case, what would the attack is? - Mental attack. - Great. - A mental attack of sorts. - And would it be my empathy? Or would it be my alertness or my discipline? How would I defend against-- - I would probably see discipline as the best you've mentioned so far. - Okay. Thank you. - 'Cause it's my best. (laughing) - The most thing. - Meghan. - And bounces out. So I have a great defense against whatever her attack was. - No, it was just the fact that she was, who she is, that surprised him. And-- - She made an excuse out of her. - The attack was also great, so it's-- - I'm here. - I'm here on the feather. - You do manage to recover from the fact that it's Meghan and she's obviously thanks, Baird, gotta be vampire. - Not only that, does she look like a corpse, or does she look like sexy minks? - She looks like a sexy minks. - A sexy minks? - Ugh, black court vampire at the worst. - Can't full-blown, but there's just-- - Oh, a hybrid black court vampire at the worst. We hate them even more than we hate them the worst. - We hate them the worst. - We hate them the worst. - We hate them the worst. - Yeah, she definitely has an era of decay about her, but she doesn't wreak of a dead corpse. - Okay, does she recognize me? Well, the way I call out, I go, "Meghan, bad girl, "bad girl." - What were you thinking? - Then you call out, and she's staring at you anyways, and she just hisses thanks. - Oh, well then, I use a spell. I will cast, I will call it Pila, which is a wind spear. - Okay. - I'm sorry, honey, but vampires don't play in this town. If there's one thing I learned with your father kicking out the lady in red from this place, vampires are bad news, and I will cast a, in my shotgun surprise, I want to probably use more power than I can necessarily control. - A person, I know, killed my heart, okay. Oh, well actually, that raises the question. Can I, instead of, I have this world spell, it's a wind spear, but if I have the power to create a spell, can I create like a, if I want to bind her, like in bands of air or wind, or if I somehow want to contain her, would that be a block, or would that be an attack? - I would say that you would want to do a magical block against her doing any movement. - Then what I'm going to try to do is, instead of my, my rope spell, I'm going to quickly cast a spell to gel and condense and solidify the air around her, binding her and freezing her in place. - Okay. - And I will, I have to declare how many shifts I want. - Is that one? - No, it doesn't. - It's not a road, he's making it up on the fly. - All right. - I will cast a five shifter. Oh, that's still a negative one. - That's necessary. - So I'll meet my guy from over at this time. - So coming up with the superb binding of. - Yeah, and unfortunately my control of that, because I'm probably shocked that it's Megan and I'm just trying to hold on to her so I can talk to her, but I did not make my discipline roll to cast the spell. Or to control the spell. - And how much did you miss by? - Well, if my discipline was four, I'm already at minus one from the level of power I used. So I have good control over a superb spell. - Okay. - Now, when you fail to control the spell. - Actually, we forgot this, but when you cast the spell, you always take one point of mental stress. - Oh, so I'm down, but you've had taken one already. This second one is an additional one. So you've taken two mental stress. - To control this spell. - Sorry, another mental stress or two mental stress. - The first one is one point of stress. The second spell you cast is again, one point, but it bumps up to the second box because you've already used. - So it's another, not one, then one, two, then one, two, three. - No, no, well, it kind of works that way, but yeah, you only take one point of stress every time. - Okay. - And you can also use physical stress instead of mental. - Four, it's either this or this or not for the conviction. - When you do conviction and if you cast more shifts than you have conviction, it always has to be mental. But if you fail to control a spell, it can be either mental or physical, or you could not bother to control it, kick the spell down to the level that rolled and let the letter go right. - I thought you said that casting up to my conviction score does not incur mental stress. - Oh, just one point. - Always. - Okay, spell talk. - Okay, that's fine. - So your options are to lower the binding spell on her and the rest of the air cuts loose into the room, knocking things over and sending things flying. - Or. - Or. - 'Cause we should hide air floating around. Yeah, that sounds a bit, yeah, I would-- - Or you take the damage in yourself to control it. - No, I have that. Then what I will do is for maybe more theatrical effect and as a way to manifest the storm that's going on in my mind of seeing my friends and a mentor's daughter now an agent of darkness, then I will lower the spell down to a three. - So the spell drops down to a good binding on her. The rest of the spell bursts you out of the room and any movement for the next-- - A fair amount of energies in the room. - Right, and that's prohibiting anybody from moving in the room. - Yeah, I feel perfect. - Including yourself. - You mean the air jello? - It's hot. - Can you embrace it? - So I'm being prevented from hitting her while the person in the tower. - Yes, 'cause you're still in the hall and you just threw the pound through the window. - Maybe it's a roll check or a lower check that there is no cure for black court men prison. - It means they're dead. - Right. - You're from death. - Oh, okay. - Well, beyond parking lots, you're a big lady. - Oh, yeah, that's right. Come on, this is something a little different than black court men prison. - We don't know that yet. - We don't know. - What's so different about it? - You can roll or to see what you know about black court men prison. I mean, you know what everybody knows about black court men prison. - I just know, I have three knowledge of what they are, but that's about it. - Okay, to know any of the additional specific Cleveland information about black court vampires would have been higher. So you know the typical stuff about black court vampires which are their dad. But you also know either she's been a vampire for a while, which doesn't make sense or she should be. - By the way, I'm sorry, I'm listening to you, but I also would submit that based on my aspects, I would accept maybe having a harder time to fight her or have a fact on her because of the significant sort of William Donovan in my life that if someone I knew and it was associated with him is in this bad state, then that is probably upsetting messing with my discipline. - Well, I would have to say that's why you didn't try to attack her and kill her instead, just bind her. - Yeah, but she should get a fake point for it. - I'm just, yeah, I was trying to look for a way to give it and I was looking at the prodigy of the legend William Donovan. - Right, plus you know, big shoes to fill and student becomes the master of, well, okay. - That's how I would try to explain it and try to shape his manner in a fake way. - Hey, you're a hard up friend, you don't have any. - The one in the back, you now know, is a man park because he takes about three steps and turns into a giant bat and he's up in the air and gone. - You're not allowed to do that. - What'd you practice? - Oh! (laughing) - I shall name him William Cheney. - I don't think he can reach him. - I don't know if I can, I don't know if I can reach him today. - I'm trying to do it. - But how many zones up is he? I could jump on this fast, dude. - His total movement was five zones. - He went right up five zones? - Well, he went up and down, diagonal, disappearing quickly. - I'll do it down. - Well, he went out three zones and up two. - I mean, he's a bit careful. - What was your total binding again? - It was good. - Unfortunately, her escape was great. So as she stands out, you just see her break in the mist and the wind in the room just whips her around a bit, but then she can see-- - Turns in the mist? - Mist. - I'll take a shot out of him anyway. - And seeps out the windows. - Oh, no seepage. - If I hit him really hard, I might get some help. - Seep went a second deal, it was later. - And attack, great. - So as he's leaving, you pull out your shotgun and-- - Take a pot set. - Take a pot set. - All right, his defense was only great, as well. Which means you do weapon damage. - What's a shot? - I'm guessing weapon damage. - So, there's this last, see the bad dip a bit, but it keeps going. - We are out of combat. - Badger. - Thanks for listening to the Knights of the Night actual play podcast. Visit kotnpodcast.com. For more information on this and other adventures, where you will find character stats, photos, storytelling, props, and even a form for comments and suggestions. Or you could email us directly at feedback at kotnpodcast.com. Or contact us via Twitter, or leave a message on Facebook. All music for this podcast was created and performed by Zen Audio Smith. If you'd like custom professional music created for your podcast or business, please visit Zen Audio Smith.com. And please, join us next episode for more Vistri and Adventurer. (upbeat music) - Thank you a little liver action shotgun. And... (laughs) - I don't have a good, holy shotgun. - Oh yeah, I forgot my shotgun. - Oh, what, this guy? (laughing)