Tales of the Healing Scars

Session 13 Missing in Action

2007-07-02T16:12:00.000-05:00

I've got some bad news: Blogger went nusto over the weekend and somehow deleted several posts from our site. I was able to restore both yesterday's post and the other post containing Session 12 summary, but it looks like I lost the session 13 finale. Older posts seem to be intact, it just messed with whatever I typed up during the weekend. I thought I had a copy of Session 13 document on my work computer, thought being the key word. I forgot that Precoat upgraded my old rickety pc last week, essentially overwriting any local files on my system. What this means is that I might have to rewrite session 13 from scratch. I'm a bit pissed off regarding this. and I'm going to check with the IT guys to see if my old hard drive hasn't been wiped. I really don't want to have to type this thing again! Anyways, I'm sorry for the delay. If you guys haven't noticed, Session 12 is up and ready for consumption. I'll keep everyone posted as to 13's progress.

Also, this weekend is Nick Havey's wedding so I doubt we will be playing session 14 during this timeframe. Currently, July 14th or 15th looks like our best options.

2 New Characters

2007-07-01T22:22:00.000-05:00

Last week, Alex and Rachel drafted new characters for our Werewolf: the Forsaken game. This will mark the first time Rachel has played with the group. Alex (as you may or may not know) used to play the character known simply as Nails. Where did Nails go? Read session 13, the finale session for the Simmons chronicle, to find out!

For me, making new characters is an interesting experience because it takes you back to the basics, forcing you to look at the system at its core. I have a confession to make: I am the type of person who easily forgets things that are not frequently used. As a GM, that can be a pretty big con. So this re-familiarization is always a plus for me. I'm just not really a live-by-the-rules kind of guy. I often go with my gut instincts when it comes to rules, instead of spending time consulting the books. While this does aid in speed and efficiency it certainly does not in accuracy.

Back to the characters. On that fateful night we made our characters an unfortunate thunderstorm rolled through, knocking out power to the surrounding area. Instead of giving up and trying another day, the group tired on and made characters by candlelight. Birthing these warriors by primordial flame was great fun, and flickering light really added to mood. I was also impressed by everyone's resolve to start gaming again, and I believe these new characters will integrate with the Scars most interestingly. I don't want to spoil their backgrounds for everyone just yet, but we are gaining a new Rahu and a Cahalith to the fold. This means the Scars will, for the first time, have each auspice represented in the pack. In the old world of darkness this was called a blessed pack, and it was privy to certain bonuses. I will have to check the new book to see if this same idea has remained.

Session 12. The Fight Ahead.

2007-06-30T10:19:00.000-05:00

Nails places a vice grip on his attacker, slowly draining the life from his human frame. The victim’s voice attempts to break through the stranglehold, coming through in brief stints as a hoarse series of whispers. The bitter fragments of speech relay that the Beshilu host thinks he can help them. Ghetto might even be able to cure the werewolves of their pesky ailment. But it isn’t going to do them any good if he’s dead, he explains. Nails, pack Alpha of the Healing Scars, contemplates his offer and decided to accept, releasing the death hold. He wants answers, so with little patience he demands that Ghetto speak quickly.

Ghetto was approached by Simmons months ago in New York City and offered a job. He was to accompany him to various locations, using his fellow rat brethren as foot soldiers. Ghetto told the boy to shove off, giving him the finger. Simmons was not impressed by his boldness and decided to use the Beshilu's services anyways. Simmons calls forth an ancient hidden power, enslaving Ghetto. A spiritual cord connects Ghetto with Simmons, allowing him to perform his bidding. Since his enslavement, Ghetto has been traveling from city to city cleaning up after the fowl Uratha, using his fellow rat spirits to eat away any opposition.

While Ghetto is explaining his actions to the Scars, the parvovirus once again emerges and threatens to destroy the packmates. Each member’s resistances are put to the test, and Eric Sky's immune system fights long and hard but ultimately fails him. Sky looses consciousness as his mind slips into another realm. Sky is in a forest. He sees a woman of tremendous beauty with fiery crimson hair in a simple green dress. She sings the following words:

One day I may disappear
Don't be too surprised
'Cause I get tired of
Noisy alarms
& phone bills

& I don't think we're meant to stay here very long
I don't dream of bringing heaven down not like this
I'd rather move on

One day I may go for the longest walk
Don't be too shocked
'Cause I get tired of
Sneaky societies
& combat boots

& I don't think we're meant to stay here very long
I don't dream of bringing heaven down not like this
I'd rather move on

As if running through fire, Eric Sky is rushed back to the world of the living in a flash of pain. Sky has almost tasted death, and the experience will linger in his soul reminding of the impending doom should the disease get its way. Sky is not dead, but his life signs are failing. Ghetto urges the pack to follow him to his lair; the Beshilu has medicines within that could prove useful to aid their fallen comrade. As one might expect, the rat spirit's home is nothing more than a massive hole in the earth several miles from where the battle was fought. Trash lines the walls, and there is a thick stench hovering in the air. A pair of prostitutes greet the rat spirit and the pack as they enter. Ghetto explains that his bitches are also Beshilu spirits living in human corpses. These women are most certainly living dead. Their bodies, oozing with scabs and sores, hold a zombie-like appearance as mounds of flesh have completely rotted away. Ghetto offers the girl's "services" to each member of the pack. No one accepts, though Deacon asks if he has any liquor handy. Ghetto grins wide and tosses half a bottle of Colt-45 malt liquor in his direction.

Once it becomes apparent that Sky has recovered from the rat's medicines, Ghetto continues his story. He says that prior to his abduction, his master told him that all of these events would happen: his enslavement at the hands of another and his eventual freedom from a pack of werewolves from a distant land. Ghetto did not take much of this talk seriously at the time, probably in part to him being under the influence of various illegal substances. Ghetto also remembers that his master also told him that after these events came to pass he was to take these strangers to him. Ghetto hates that Simmons is trying to seal up the Gauntlet. As a rat host, it is his job to go against the Azlu by tearing down the barriers between the spirit and the physical worlds. Though Ghetto and most of his kind normally hate the children of father wolf, he decides to make an exception. He says he will even sell his soul to THE MAN in order to see that David Simmons goes down. The have earned a strange, new ally. They leave Ghetto's abode and travel deeper into the forest in search of his mentor. Ghetto leads them into a cave of various tunnels and passages. As they proceed through the cavern, the surroundings become vaguely familiar. The Healing Scars have been here before. This is the same trail that took them to Shadow Wind back when the pack was trying to gain entry to the Ethros realm. At the end of the trek, Ghetto leads them to that aged Uratha. From the hissil, the old man portrays a powerful visage. Shadow Wind sits on a throne of gold dressed in the robe of a king. His face holds the look of wisdom, one who has existed from a time long forgotten to all but him.

Shadow Wind waste no time with salutations. He is aware of the pack’s diseases and explains that he may be able to help. First, he will need four of Ghetto’s strongest Beshilu spirits. Shadow Winds tells the werewolves that he can slow the disease by physically placing one of the rat spirits inside each wolf. A Beshilu spirit naturally eats the heart of its victim making them a slave to the spirit’s desires. Shadow Wind believes that if he can store the spirit outside of the heart, it will eat away at the disease ceasing further infection. This is, of course, very dangerous. The rat spirit must physically tunnel through the host. Once, inside the rat might get greedy and go for the heart, which would prove fatal. Shadow Wind believes the without some kind of intervention the Healing Scars will not last more than 24 hours. He asks if one would step forward, one brave enough to volunteer in this experiment. Without hesitation, Eric Sky agrees. The rat chews through his flesh, burrowing between his ribcage. As painful as this ordeal might be, it is child’s play compared to his recent near dearth experience. Eric Sky is consumed with a will to live and will do whatever is necessary to help himself and his pack. Several agonizing minutes later, the process is complete. While the disease is still present, the infection is no longer spreading. The rat inside is eating away at it each time the disease attempts to place a stranglehold on the Uratha. It is a success, and the remaining members of the Healing Scars follow suit. They too battle great pain and eventually the Beshilu spirits find their way inside, protecting them from further harm.

While the Scars rest, Shadow Wind thanks his fellow brethren for all they have done since they last met. He is quite pleased with their efforts and offers each of them gifts. Shadow Wind teaches Eric Sky one of his most precious gifts. This power gives its user and willing targets the ability to change appearances in the shadow realm. At greater levels he might be able to completely disguise himself. At its current state, he will be able to use it to mask the disease and the Beshilu spirits. This could prove useful if the Healing Scars decide to attend the lodge meeting, as the other werewolves will believe them to be cured. For Deacon Sharpe, Shadow Wind admits he does not know him well enough to help the Uratha specifically but insists that he will teach him any level 2 gift he requires, within his bounds. Nails, still consumed by his rage, wants nothing more than to put an end to David Simmons. Shadow Wind recognizes this, and grants him an increase in primal urge. As far as Marcus Blair is concerned, Shadow Wind reveals a secret about the sword Eternal Balance gave him. As Blair might have guessed, this is no ordinary blade. One of these powers he has used already, though he may not have not at the time. On days and nights of the Elodoth half-moon, Marcus can use this weapon to travel back and forth to the Ethros realm at will. This is how Blair spoke with Eternal Balance the last night while he and the pack were locked in the meat locker.

Marcus is eager to tell the rest of the pack about his weapon’s new powers. That night is still a half-moon, meaning the pack can travel back to Ethros realm if they so desire. The lodge meeting is not for several more hours, so Nails decides they can afford to take this detour. The sword works as intended and the Uratha find themselves back in the Ethros realm, though in a room they had never been in before. This area appears to be some sort of a factory with assembly lines, conveyor belts, and the like. A young man in a business suit sneers in their direction. It is Killer-of-Lies, one of Eternal Balances underlings. He and the Scars have a past, and he does not care much for the intruders. But Killer and the Scars both favor the Ethros elder Eternal Balance, and in this they share a common bound. Killer sarcastically greets the pack. He does not recognize Deacon Sharpe (the previous events in the Ethros realm happened before he joined the pack). Killer-of-Lies tells everyone that they are standing in one of the resurrection rooms. It is in this place spirits who are tried under Ethros law are revived and placed under their newly appointed ban. Eternal Balance has graciously given the pack authority to personally oversee the reconstruction of their totem, Rids-the-Pain. The great bear spirit will receive his new ban, as well as whatever powers the pack chooses within their limits. A ban is chosen. New powers are assigned. The factory springs to life as gears grind and turn. Rids-the-Pain is born anew and gladly joins his pack.

But time is of the essence. Nails and the rest of the Scars cross back into the physical world, ready to attend the lodge meeting. Before they go, Eric Sky uses his new gift and masks the packs spiritual signatures. To the common Uratha, the pack will appear completely cured. Since The Lodge of Harmony holds it’s meeting in a small valley on a secluded side of a mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park. The only way to reach this destination is to treacherously climb to the other side, which no doubt requires some nimble athletics. The werewolves collectively have no problems scaling the rock and make the climb in great speed. At the bottom of the cliff, Sparks is there to greet them. He is surprised as hell that they made it and found a cure to the parvovirus. He would love to chat in detail as to how they overcame this, but tonight's event is about to start. The lodge meeting begins as various congregation sing melodies of times past in the first tongue. Half a dozen fires are lit, one for each of the packs present. As the first order of business, common matters within the area are discussed such as squabbles for territory, locus management, and threats from the Pure. Most of the talk is spearheaded by the eldest Uratha, Swift Eyes, who resides over the entire lodge meeting. Finally the business concerning the Healing Scars is brought to the table. Swift Eyes tells of the impending threat. A rogue Uratha known by the name of David Simmons has attempted to spread a disease which has killed many normal wolves in our territory. This plague has been mutated by Simmons and is believed to contain the potential to wipe out all of the Uratha. Swift Eyes smiles and announces that, it is with great pride and joy, this threat is no more. His speech strangely changes tone. Swift Eyes informs the delegation that this entire catastrophe, the disease, Simmon’s attacks, everything, is all a grave misunderstanding. David Simmons should be commended, not persecuted. This young werewolf has cleared his name; his parvovirus was never intended with the Uratha in mind as a target. It was actually meant to be used as a weapon to drive away the foulest of the foul, their mortal enemies, the Pure. A cure has been found for the drug by members of the Deathdealers and by the aid of the Healing Scars. Swift Eyes looks at the pack and commends them for their cooperation. The aged wolf makes a startling decree: In one week’s time, he will be traveling north to Yellowstone Park to meet with Simmons and hopes all will present here today will join him. Together they will obtain the cure, vanquish their foes, and return honor to both Luna and Father Wolf!

A thunderous applause pierces the air. The majority of those present have bought into his story: hook, line, and sinker. The Scars hang their heads in shame. Nails wants nothing to do with this, gathering his men to leave this travesty. As they depart, Sparks intercepts them. He was not among those who were impressed by Swift Eye’s speech. He tells the pack that the lodge is grateful for all they’ve done, presenting them with tickets back to London. But the werewolf does not wish them to leave. The Lodge of Harmony will be walking into certain destruction at the hands of David Simmons in one week. He says he has a plan. He wants to accompany the pack on a journey northward to intercept Simmons before the meeting occurs. The objective is quite simple: kick his ass. Nails wastes no time contemplating. To him, killing Simmons is not a decision. It is as involuntary as a heartbeat. It WILL happen.

Apologies for Nothingness

2007-05-30T15:10:00.000-05:00

It absolutely figures. I write a post last week confirming that many awesome things (session summary, posts of coolness) would grace our site and, sadly, I haven't made good on any of those promises. Excuses follow: this Memorial Day holiday weekend became very family-oriented (which is of course fine as they should be) eating up the time I had thought would go towards the game. Work-related stress has once again reared its ugly head: the capital project I'm running has put our engineering guys in a hissy-fit with our sister-company over our new thermal system which they designed and sorta fucked up (one of those multi-million $$ boo-boo's).

Excuses aside, I hope to get my collective shit together and crank out content very soon. I have a rough draft for session 13 on paper but it desperately needs revision. I seriously doubt it will be ready for this weekend. So my question is, how does the weekend after next (June 8-9) feel for you guys? Comment here, or email me, or call, or whatever electronic device route you feel is appropriate to respond.

Thanks. I really heart your patience!

Some Changes on the Way

2007-05-21T10:50:00.000-05:00

A quick shout out to the boyz for an excellent session last weekend! I believe things went down quite nicely. The primarily focus of that session was to prep for the battle with David Simmons (Junior). In the past, downtime was used to do this as players bought gifts, rites, and upped their stats. I chose to instead to integrate these actions directly into the story (like the restructuring of the pack's totem, Rids-the-Pain).

The next session will most likely be the last for this chronicle. It's been a long journey, from those first days when the Scars took over Hyde Park. The first mission was to investigate several murders (that Simmons committed) in their new territory. This hunt took them to the Ethros realm, Lancaster, and now the United States. The finale encounter is in sight. Needless to say, I'm eagerly awaiting this showdown.

By the by, here are few changes to site I plan on adding in the days to come:

-Session Summary for Session 12

-Online character sheets

-New page for pack totem with character sheet

-Music page for the song "Leave"

-New pack pictures

Session 11. Rats, still infected!

2007-05-18T13:00:00.000-05:00

The Healing Scars wake to find themselves in a freezer room somewhere in Colorado. The local pack, the Deathdealers, has found them and locked them here for containment. One of its members is a fellow by the last name Greene who likes to be called Sparks. Sparks (who looks very much like a young Steve Buscemi) is a MacGyver of sorts when it comes to electronics and computers. As the pack attempts to break out of this room, he shows off his skill by electrifying the floors and walls of the room. Sparks informs them that they are infected and, until they are cured, the Uratha will remain here for everyone’s protection. When asked how they arrived in Denver, Sparks explains that members of his pack intercepted them when the phoenix spirit dropped them on the mainland. Fortunately they’ve raided a bunch of factories from this company called Pentex and were able to find several strains of antidotes to the parvovirus. While none of them were the entire cure, it seems that each was a piece to the overall puzzle. The antidote that the Scars found on the plane was, what he and the rest of the Deathdealers believe, the last piece to this puzzle. Currently, Sparks he tells the pack to sit tight and remain in isolation. One of their kinfolk, a research biologist named Amber Smith, cultured the strains together and believes she has a working antidote. She performed this research from her lab in Memphis, Tennessee and this is currently in route with the cure and is estimated to have it there early in the morning. The kinfolk scientist replaced their original doctor who was murdered days ago. Marcus also wants to know where Max Roman and the Silver Syndicate are as this was to be his contact per Strike-with-Courage. Sparks regrets to inform him that the entire pack is away on urgent matters in LA due to a recent Pure attack. The Deathdealers pack is the #2 in Denver and, for the time being, they are in charge of parvovirus matters.

Later that night they are offered some food. Everyone, minus Nails, accepts and eats. He instead finds a slab of semi-frozen meat and dines in style. Eric Sky uses his spare time to create a warding rite to work against the parvovirus. His efforts are unsuccessful, but he does manage to discover several distinct clues that may lead to future success. Marcus Blair still obtains the sword given to him by Eternal Balance. The Elodoth channels its power and attempts to use it to commune with the Ethros Spirit. Through intense meditation, he manages to obtain a connection and finds himself back in the hub of the Ethros realm. Eternal Balance is before him, waving his arms like a conductor while several spheres dangle above, breaking and splitting into smaller orbs. The Ethros elder greets the young Uratha and explains that he is breaking the singular Essence Sphere into several pieces, in order to better protect the realm in case another like Magaloth attempts to steal it. When asked for advice on what to do next, the spirit vaguely informs him that he should listen to the blade of the sword. They will come a time when they reach a seemingly hopeless opposition. He tells Marcus that it will guide him to the answers, though other members of his pack might resist this level of thinking. Finally, he tells him that a great power lies in slumber in that sword, and that he will soon harness its greatness.

Sparks greets them the next day with the newly arrived scientist. Dr. Smith injects each member with a serum and reports that they should know very soon if the effects of the antidote have worked. A half hour later Sparks re-enters the meat locker and is thrilled to report that the antidote was successful; they are free to leave. There’s something fishy in the tone and manner in which Sparks delivers the message of their new cure, as if perhaps he is lying to save face. He also adds that they have been requested to attend at a meeting for the Lodge of Harmony later tonight. Before they leave, the werewolf quite indiscriminately slips them a note. They leave the building without speaking a further word. Once outside, they read the message:

Meet me in approx. 2 hours
Dane’s Pub – 12th street
Don’t be followed

Eric Sky peers across the gauntlet to see if they are any signs of infection. The spirit realm reveals that the parvovirus is still in their systems. They have nearly two hours until they need to meet with Sparks, so they decide to make the best of this time. Marcus thinks they should concentrate their efforts on the previous doctor who was murdered. Deacon does a little snooping around of the net and discovers that his house, where he was murdered, is not far from here. During their investigation, the effects of the virus hit the pack hard. (System Note: here are my rules on how we roleplayed risks for further infection from the parvovirus. Each pack member made a stamina + survival check. Anyone who failed that roll collapsed, taking two aggravated damage. These checks were made at various intervals, ranging from every fifteen minutes to ever hour.) Marcus is overcome will illness and collapses. As the rest of the members tend to him, Deacon weakens to the disease and falls as well. They eventually both recover, but this proves the effects of the disease are quite real. A cure must be found as soon as possible. Nails determines to divide the group as he sees fit; he and Marcus will wait behind while Eric and Deacon proceed on to the doctor’s house. While speaking of these plans the werewolves notice that several groups of rats have been following them, no doubt attracted to their disease. Eric follows a hunch and uses Two World Eyes to peer into the shadow. Sky’s assumptions were correct; many of the rodents in the physical world are actually rat hosts called Beshilu. He creates a warding circle that should protect each packmate should these evil spiritual shards attempt to feed off of the Scars.

Both Deacon Sharpe and Eric Sky take a taxi, generously tipping the driver to get them to their destination as fast as humanly possible. He chuckles and tells them to hold on as says he’ll cut their trip’s time in half. Several of the Beshilu rats attempt to pursue the two infected werewolves but eventually fall out of sight as the cab accelerates to illegal speeds. The cab pulls to the address, and they witness a rather distraught woman, presumably his widow, exiting the home. They wait for several minutes and approach the house, looking for an easy way in. Deacon spots one of the back windows slightly ajar, and they take advantage of this to gain entry. Once inside, they find the crime scene. The master room bed has blood stains soaked through the mattress and along the adjacent wall. A locus is present in the room and both use it to step into the spirit world. A ghost of the former doctor is there lying on the bed in the exact position where he was murdered. Several rats have gnawed away the top of his skull and are currently chewing away at his brains. Eric tries to give him some essence to rouse the spirit. He speaks briefly but it is mostly gibberish about how he can no longer remember. These Beshilu are erasing his minds and they feast on his spiritual body. Eric pumps more essence into the victim to decrease his sedation. The rats grow angry, lashing out at both Deacon and Eric. But a newly formed warding circle drawn by the Bone Shadow protects them for the time being. The doctor snaps up from the bed, eyes burning wide and bright. He remembers something as he repeats over and over:

“He is still in the park, in the park, in the park. HE did this to me. HE did this to me.”

Sky: “Who did this to you?”

“The one who is controlled by another. The ONE who is controller by another. He will do this to you… to US ALL if he is not stopped.”

The last of Sky’s given essence is absorbed as the ghost lies back in his bed, completely comatose beside his anchor. There is no more information to be learned here today. Both packmates depart and race to the pub to meet up with the rest of the Scars.

After that ordeal is over, the entire pack rejoins and promptly meets Sparks at the bar. He’s a bit jumpy as he first apologizes for all the deception. As they have already figured out, they are not cured of the parvovirus. The current antidote was a failure, and more testing needs to be done to see if an acceptable one can be cultured. Sparks also explains why he had to lie to them. His pack is called the Deathdealers for a reason. After seeing what the regular wolves here in Colorado went through, they are not taking any chances with the disease. If the infected Uratha couldn’t be cured immediately, they would be killed, simple as that. And what’s with all the lying and the sneaking around? This is because his pack, in their extreme paranoia, had bugged the entire area (including Sparks) so he had to meet them like this under these circumstances and lie to make the rest of the pack believe there was no immediate threat. He also tells them that the disease tends to spread after long expenditures of essence so they ought to “cool down” using spiritual powers for now. Right now they have, what he can determine, two choices.

1) This is a choice he figures they’ll pass on. Get the fuck out of dodge, go back to England, and lie low. Sparks promises that he and Dr. Smith will continue working on a cure. If they can find it in time, then he will of course see that they get the antidote. At least they can die in peace, not hunted by Agents and Uratha.

2) Find a cure within the next 10 hours (its noon and the lodge meeting is set to take place at 10pm) and then proceed to the lodge meeting as the Deathdealers requested. They cannot go to this lodge meeting with the parvovirus, it would be detected and the Scars would be terminated. Finding a cure is damn near impossible. Maybe, MAYBE there’s something they missed in the dead wolves at Rocky Mountain National Park. But Christ if that isn’t the longest of all shots in the dark, diamonds in the rough, needles in the fucking haystack Sparks has ever heard of. And they can’t stick around here infected. Sparks says that once his pack finds out they’ve skipped the lodge meeting they will hunt them down, assuming the worst. These are dangerous times we’re living in, and these Uratha are not taking chances.

The Healing Scars wonder why Sparks is going through all this trouble to help them in the first place. His motivation is simple, he was a long time ago friends with Nicholas DeWinter. Nails may be just a shell the former ally once knew (due to Nail’s sketchy memory), but he is still a good friend worth protecting. He looks his old mate square in the eyes and says that someday after all this mess is finished he’d like to take him up to Alaska to set his head straight. He and the scientist will be around and might try to check out Rock Mountain NP depending on certain factors. Sparks leaves and wishes them the best of luck, parting them with a little gizmo the Iron Master devised that looks like a lovechild between a calculator and a pager. The device when activated creates an encrypted connection between him and the pack via cell phone. He also gives each one of them a cyanide tablet. They should use this if the disease tries to spread again or if the pain becomes too much. The Scars mull over a couple of beers, deciding to head to the park in hopes of finding clues.

The initial journey in Rocky Mounting National Park is fairly uneventful. But as they grow closer to where the first wolves where infected, more and more rats trail behind. Several minutes later it’s become increasing clear that they are being surrounded by the little beasts. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of them drawing near as they form a circle around the pack. While an all-out confrontation appears imminent, a large black man in an overcoat (very gangster looking) approaches from the horizon and makes his way to the group. After he comes within shouting distance of the pack, he begins a dialog with the furry rodents in their native tongue. Eric Sky strains his ears to make out the conversation, but the dialect is far too foreign for him to comprehend. The rats attention is fizated on him as they retreat a bit, reforming in a group several yards behind the stranger. Even wierder, he starts having a new conversation/argument with himself. After some further exchanges the gangster concedes with his imaginary friend and agrees to do his bidding. But he argues that there’s no point in doing any of this since the werewolves are almost dead anyways. Using a gift, Marcus Blair determines that this man goes by the name Ghetto. Ghetto turns to the froup and tells that he's real sorry that he has to kill them. A faction of the rats behind him break off and join with his body as he transforms in to a massive were-rat nearly twelve feet tall. The remaining rats (hundreds broken up into groups of 10 for combat purposes) around him also go a bit crazy and prepare to attack.

Eric does what he does best and creates a warding circle to keep the disease-loving mother fuckers off their backs. Nails concentrates his attacks on the closest groups of rats, putting the stop sign to good use by slicing the little buggers in half. Both Deacon and Marcus make effective use of their firearms, dropping back to a reasonably safe distance and firing out round after lethal round into the rat monstrosity. Each time the gunmen inflict severe damage on the were-rat; more hordes of rats join with his body giving him a nearly limitless system of soaking damage. The warding circle also briefly collapses as Ghetto successfully poisons Sky's mind through spiritual trickery. In this moment of weakness he attacks Sky, landing a near fatal blow.

The Scars need to act fast. Sky is fading, and the surplus of Beshilu has made the attacker become nearly invincible. Marcus Blair remembers that words that his mentor gave him earlier that day. He unsheathes his sword and initiates a series of vicious melee maneuvers. One of his blows proves extremely deadly and, as sunlight reflects off of his blade, he makes out a faint signature of what could best be described as a spiritual cord of sorts embedded in the back of the attackers head. He raises the blade high, concentrates with ever fiber of his being, and brings his weapon down swift and sure upon the connection of this cord. The link is severed in a flash of painfully blinding light. The were-rat passes out, easing back into his human form as the remaining Beshilu scatter in confusion. The Scars are victorious; their new prisoner has some explaining to do.

We're popular!?

2007-05-17T14:42:00.000-05:00

As vain as that is say, I do get satisfaction from being watched from afar. I’ve been telling the group that I receive emails every now and then from folks commenting on how much they enjoy reading our site's content. It is nice to know that somewhere out there other people our enjoying our gaming experiences. But I didn’t think we were ever this level of popular. I’m posting it below (in caps to illustrate its awesomeness) what I just found out about our “not-so-little” site:

OUR HEALING SCAR’S WEBSITE IS ON THE OFFICAL WHITE WOLF WIKI.

Don’t believe me? Click here and go to the bottom of the page where it lists personal pages for Werewolf: the Forsaken. That means (clearing my throat) that not only do the fine folks at White Wolf Studios know about our site, but they also believe that it is of a high enough caliber to list on their official pages. That's kind of like being in the Dark Spiral times 1,000. It’s super maxi awesome, and I can’t come up with enough words to describe its coolness (other than words that continue to make me come off like an excited schoolgirl, so I’ll quit while I’m ahead).

You guys should be proud. I know I am.

Session 10. Airborne.

2007-05-15T20:53:00.000-05:00

Note to readers: The happenings within the session took place over a year before this writing. Unfortunately, due to the massive gap in time, many sections of this text have been severely summarized. I created this blog back in the day in hopes that our session summaries would provide a concrete picture of the past events, as an aid to both the storyteller and the other players. (GM note to self: I will try, in the future, to post the summaries in a more timely fashion.)

The Scars have returned home from their trek to Lancaster and eagerly discuss their options for confronting Simmons. Unfortunately, the castle turned out to be a trap, and they are now infected with a disease. But they did manage to obtain the lengthy conspiracy files from Agent Wade regarding the parvovirus. Is there something of value locked away inside these pages? Marcus Blair scours over the text desperately trying to find a clue. He surmises that they should travel to the United States, where the bulk of the testing and infections occurred. There are two obvious locations: Alaska, where the Pentex headquarters is said to exist, and the Rockies, where reports surfaced of wolves dying from a strange infection. There is a some debate amongst the pack, though it is eventually decided that they will make their first stop in Denver, Colorado. A major factor in this decision-making is due to Strikes-with-Courage's mentoring. The lodge member reveals that he is acquainted with Max Roman, one of the most powerful werewolves in Denver. Strikes arranges a brief dialog between Roman and Marcus. Marcus explains their situation and arranges for copies of the conspiracy files to be sent to him. Roman agrees to look them over and to provide assistance once they arrive in Colorado. Using packmate Deacon Sharpe's seemingly infinite resources, they purchase airfare and prepare for their journey.

The following day, the pack boards a jet and coasts across the Atlantic towards the USA. Hours into the flight, Eric receives a brief text message from Tonya, who has been watching Wendy with Strikes-with-Courage:

agents brroke in!
shot strikes_and captured him!1!
dead r alive i dont know
wendy & i running

Sky quickly informs the other members of the Healing Scars. Oddly, he received this text information via phone but he cannot reply due to technical difficulties. One of the members of the Scars (it's a bit hazy but I think it was Marcus Blair) uses one of his spirit power's and burns essence. Little does the pack know that this act will set off a chain reaction that will inevitably doom everyone on the aircraft. Shortly after this time, it's discovered that an older man and a young girl have both become violently ill. Marcus checks in on them both, pretending to be a doctor. Using the gift “Two World Eyes” Eric Sky is able to peer across the gauntlet directly into the hissel. Surrounding both of the victims a green substance can be seen swarming through their bodies, the same parvovirus that has infected the Scars! Eric's cell phone beeps again; he has received yet another message:

ok, we r safe
hiding w OMD*
pentex guys said something
about virus is spreading& missiles?
please be careful

*OMD affectionately stands for "Old Man Diaper," the aged Urathan mentor of the Scars

The members of the pack quietly talk with each other discussing various possibilities on how to contain the virus. They also theorize that the expenditure of essence is what could have triggered the possible infection. One thing is for certain, if the disease is airborne they can not let the plane land for fear of a pandemic. Some time later their fears are confirmed: more passengers have grown ill and the first two infected victims have passed away. To make matters worse, people have been hearing rumors that navigation and radio communications have failed. Deacon Sharpe's laptop suddenly looses it's connection along with other electronic devices. An electrical spike rips through the cabin, much like an EMP pulse. The “technical difficulties” that cropped up earlier are back in full force. Something, or someone, is blocking them from making communication to the outside world. Perhaps individuals (Pentex, the government) on the ground know about the problem and are taking countermeasures? It's a theory that seems to fit the facts, as things have officially gone from bad to worse.

Though everyone's electronic devices were knocked out, one man is still chatting on his phone. Using their heightened sense of hearing, the pack collectively snoops in on his conversation. He says a lot of ominously bad things such as “I'll take care of it” and “whatever it takes” as well as “see it through to the bitter end” after which he darts from his seat and hastily proceeds to the front of the plane. Deacon Sharpe take the necessary steps to overt his actions by exiting his seat and following in pursuit. The gentleman arrives at the cockpit, kicks in the door, and pulls a revolver, firing several shots. Deacon rushes the gunmen, initiating a grapple before the gunner can cause further damage. They wrestle over the weapon for several turns; Deacon eventually overcomes his opponent. After a quick interrogation it's discovered that he is in fact a marshal, and the call he received was from his superiors. He was told a deadly virus was on the plane and to take the necessary steps to down the aircraft. The man gets testy and says that it is useless to attempt to thwart this situation. Sharpe's patience wears thin; the Iron Master shoots the man in the leg to up the intimidation factor. Instead he sneers, pulls the classic “spit in your face” maneuver, and tells Deacon that several inboard missiles should be in route at this very moment to finish the job. He laughs methodically confessing that this is all standard operating procedure. Sharpe's patience wears to a boiling point as he uses the remaining revolver rounds to shut him up for good.

While this entire debacle was going on, Nails wisely decides to use the situation/commotion to enter the cargo hold to retrieved their weapons. He also bides his time and searches for clues by tearing the crap out of everything and anything in his way. Oddly enough, he stumbles upon a lone package that bears Pentex's markings. The Scars Alpha opens the box and simultaneously hits the jackpot: a vile of sorts is inside! Could this be an antidote? Nails slips it on his person and continues to pillage. Everyone's weapons are later distributed. By this time most of the passengers have lost it in the wake of all these events. Marcus and Eric attempt to hold some amount of order by instructing everyone to remain calm. Deacon takes his own gun in hand and finally enters the cockpit. The situation there is not pretty, both of the pilots were shot by the marshal and are dead. Two flight attendants remain cowered over the deceased, rattled in a combination of fear and shock. Deacon comes to grips with the fact that one of these women needs to take control of the plane or they're all in big trouble. Note: the dialog below is pretty much exactly how it went down and was one of the silliest exchanges I've had the pleasure of GM-ing.

Deacon: Do you know how to fly this plane?
1st Stewardess: Well, not exactly. I sorta never took the classes.
Deacon: Let me guess... you were fucking one of the pilots so you didn't have to?
Stewardess: Yeah, I mean all I really do is show people how to buckle their seat belts. (Crying) I didn't think they'd be an actual emergency!
Deacon: Right. (Speaking under his breath) Useless broad. (Pauses. Shoots the girl. Looks at the other stewardess.) What's your name?
2nd Stewardess: It's... Star. P..please mister, don't shoot me!
Deacon: Star? You are a stewardess, not a stripper, and your name is fucking Star? Did you screw the pilot too?
Star: Yes. (Worried) But I did take the classes!

So Star the Stewardess (hehe) pilots the 747 in novice fashion while the Healing Scars do their best not come off like complete terrorists to the rest of the folks. Star screams at Deacon, telling him that something bad is showing up on the “radar thing.” This would be the missile, foretold by the marshal. Deacon informs the rest of the pack. Things have gone from worse to fucking terrible. Eric comes up with an interesting long shot. If they start killing off each passenger there is a slight chance all the terror and rage of the events might loosen the gauntlet or even create a locus. Seeing no other viable alternatives, they put the plan into motion. Nails readies himself in the back of the aircraft as the rest of the pack herds the passengers towards him. This might just be the one time in the Alpha's life that he has been truly happy. Nails goes crazy times one hundred: chopping off limbs, maiming, and murdering to his heart's content. He even takes the rampage to a psychological level as he wears the skin off people's faces and chants odd phrases like “I'm Jesus! Wait... now I'm Satan!” The slaughter finally winds down as Nails runs out of victims. The carnage is so severe that the the walls of the plane have become painted with a thick, bloody layer of flesh, sinew, and organs.

Eric Sky searches the confines of the airplane for any change in the spirit world. Finally, he detects a slight breach to the gauntlet in the back of the plane. It just might be large enough for the Uratha to slip through. The Bone Shadow pours some of his own essence into the new locus in hopes of stabilizing it. The bridge between worlds holds, and everyone quickly crosses over into the spirit realm. The Healing Scars could not have found their solution at a better time. Like something out of a James Bond film, a missile strikes the side of the Boeing 747 center mass seconds after their departure. The whole vessel erupts into a massive fireball and plummets towards the waiting ocean.

On the spirit side, the pack is greeted by an unsuspected visitor, the living spirit of the plane. It would appear that a technology spirit, a phoenix to be exact, has been living as a counterpart to the real plane in the physical world. The Healing Scars are perched on one of his massive wings as the creature views them with cautious eyes. Sky communes with the spirit for some time and returns to his brothers with excellent news. The creature has agreed to take them the rest of the way to the mainland.

As they travel through the spirit world towards their destination, signs of the plane's destruction are beginning to take effect here as well. Slowly, the bird's entire being is twisting and fading with each passing minute. As the winged beast nears its end, it finally drops the pack on the surface below, singing to them in its native tongue the word “sleep.” The song wraps itself around the werewolves like a blanket and they drift deep into slumber, as the bird chimes its final melody before meeting with the abyss.

A Fresh Coat of Paint

2007-05-10T16:15:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't noticed, the website's theme (look) has changed considerably. Warning! If you're allergic to "geek speak" then avoid the following. The previous theme's CSS code did not play nice with the new changes Blogger went through in its transition from beta to final. In said switch, the site’s ability to post comments completely crashed. The old theme was one I had modded from the warehouse of customization also known as blogskins.com. After fudging with the code for about an hour, I realized it might prove less stressful to just start from scratch and code the damn thing myself. The result of which you are now staring at is the new and (hopefully) improved Healing Scars blog. I've done my moderate best to ensure that the content and flavor of our site was transferred seamlessly. To be honest, I'm not sure if everything is up to snuff. I know that the site looks pretty fly in Internet Explorer, Opera, and Firefox. I'm not a Mac dude anymore so I can't vouch for Safari. I'm also curious if the site works on lower resolutions, but on the other side of the spectrum it spaces out nicely on my widescreen monitor.

Anyways, I had a point with this post. Now that the rambling is over I'll get right to it: if you guys see anything "screwy" going on due to the changes let me know. I will be more the happy to fix whatever the heck it might be. Also, if you look on the right sidebar you'll see a new section called "Posts by Label." It does what it says... and I find it a much faster way to find older posts than digging through the archives. Enjoy!

My Brightest Diamond

2007-05-07T21:28:00.000-05:00

The session summary is running a little bit behind, so I thought I'd make a quick post concerning some of the music I've recently chosen. Last session, I opened our gig with a song from the band My Brightest Diamond. These guys are the real deal, and I can't stress enough how much I enjoy listening to their sounds. Here's a quick intro to the band via their website:

"My Brightest Diamond is Shara Worden, granddaughter of an Epiphone-playing traveling evangelist, fathered by a National Accordion Champion, and mothered by a classical organist. Having a family of wanderers who migrated across the US every few years, the landscape and the musical influences were constantly changing. Spanish tangos, Sunday morning gospel, classical and jazz were the accompaniment to her home life. Her first song was recorded at age three and by age eight she was studying piano and performing in community musical productions.

As a teenager in Michigan, Shara honed her musical prowess singing along to Whitney Houston music videos and Mariah Carey albums. When pop music wasn't enough, she enrolled in the music program at the University of North Texas, immersing herself in the songs of Purcell and Debussy. After college, she moved to New York City and fell in love with its cold winters and busy streets. She continued to study opera on the Upper West Side during the day, but at night she frequented downtown clubs such as Tonic, Knitting Factory, and The Living Room, catching performances by Antony and the Johnsons, Nina Nastasia, and Rebecca Moore. She began to spend less time sight-reading Mozart and more time de-tuning her Gibson electric guitar to play her own newly-written songs. Coaxed out of recital halls and onto the small stages of bars and clubs, Shara assembled a coterie of musicians to accompany her with bass and drums, music boxes, wine glasses, and wind chimes."

I've embedded their amazingly surreal live cover of Led Zeppelin's No Quarter below, along with several other inspiring melodies. I hope you enjoy!

Roleplaying Again

2007-05-06T21:41:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everybody for getting together and playing Session 11! As always, you guys indeed rock serious stuff. Highlights from the evening include:

1. It could not, would not, be a Healing Scars session if Adam did not loose his character sheet. Adam, being the team player that he his, kept the tradition alive. This was no surprise, as everyone knew this was going to happen. Yay for tradition!

2. Mad props to Chris for having the foresight and awesomeness to hold on to Adam’s character sheet from our last session eons ago. Chris, being a responsible team player and earning experience points for the deed, will from this day forth hold Adam’s character sheet, much like a parent holding a child’s hand (OK that was too harsh. I kid, I kid).

3. Alex earns some respect for using his character’s free time locked in a meat locker to his advantage. When offered some real food by his captors, he declines and decides instead to "do the caveman" by eating some frozen raw meat. Very nice. Very Nails.

4. And finally some praise needs to be delivered to Ben. While playing Sam and Eric Sky this session, he drew so many warding circles to protect the collective pack I’m surprised he did not get dizzy and pass out.

Session 10 (which is horribly late) should be posted tomorrow. If that goes as planned, expect last weekend’s session to be readily available shortly afterward.

Nail's Theme Song

2007-04-22T15:03:00.000-05:00

Alex (who plays Nails) called me the other day with a tiny revelation: he had found a potential song that fit his dark, dark character. I found the song on the good ole YouTube and thought it might prove useful to post it here.

Pantera - Walk

Gawd, this song brings back memories. Between this and Metallica's "Master of Puppets" you'd be hard-pressed to find a heavier song. Good choice, Alex. This song breathes Nails.

Session 9. Wading through Death.

2007-04-20T16:29:00.000-05:00

We're REALLY Back!

2007-04-18T10:59:00.002-05:00

OK folks, we are really (I swear) starting up our Healing Scars group again! I'm also happy to report that everyone from the group is on board and ready to play (Adam, did you loose you character sheet again? /joking).

What the outsiders to our game didn't know is that we actually played Sessions 9 and 10 last year. I never managed to pen the events and I'm going to do so over the next few days. Due to the extreme length of time between writing and playing, I'm quite sure that some things will be left out. So I'd really appreciate it if you guys (the Scars) look these session summaries over and let me know what I've undoubtedly missed.

I'm brainstorming Session 11 as we speak and plan on writing it this weekend. Originally, I had planned on jumping forward one year and playing events after the battle with David Simmons. But an idea I've been kicking around has changed my mind; you guys will be continuing the story.

Did I mention that I'm excited? Hell yeah!

A Post is a Post

2006-03-29T09:44:00.000-06:00

A recent conversation with myself:

Eithan: Damn I am busy.
Real Life: Yeah, I’m going to have to take the blame for that.
Healing Scars: Eithan, where are you? I’m sooo cold.
Eithan: Who the hell are you? (Gives blanket)
Healing Scars: (Cough) We used to be such good friends. I miss you.
Real Life: Don’t listen to him. I AM YOUR ONLY FRIEND.
Eithan: I’m so confused.
Healing Scars: Remember this? (Draws a heart with his finger) Your imagination?
Eithan: Oh damn, I sure do. (Takes out gun. Shoots Real Life in the head.)
Healing Scars: (Smile)
Eithan: Let’s rock.

I am alive. I swear.

2006-03-14T16:15:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the lack of updates.

I’m pulling a full load of classes this term and work is slowing catching up with me. School is a mess as I’m fighting to graduate this year in the rare event that the company I work for doesn’t pick me up next year. That way I have a degree when I job hunt to increase said chances of getting a decent job.

I will post the summaries once I get a chance to sit down at my computer and waste an hour or so. Also, this weekend is really bad for me as a military friend is flying up to hang out.

I’ll post more as soon as time is on my side.

As always, you guys’s patience is super appreciated.

Ben is Mad Funny Yo

2006-03-06T13:49:00.000-06:00

Question: OK, what do you get when you cross a

with a

?

Answer: A WERORRIST!

Other great quotes for the night:

Deacon: Do you know how to fly the plane?
Stewardess: Well, not exactly. I sorta never took the classes.
Deacon: Let me guess, you were screwing the pilot?
Stewardess: Yeah, I mean all we really do is show people how to buckle their seatbelts. I didn't think they'd be an actual emergency.
Deacon: Right. (Shoot the girl. Looks at the other stewardess.) What's your name?
Stewardess: It's... Star. P..lease don't shoot me.
Deacon: You are a stewardess and your name is fucking Star? Did you screw the pilot too?
Star: Yes. (Worried) But I DID take the classes.

Nails: I'M THE DEVIL! NOW I'M JESUS! WAIT, I'M THE DEVIL AGAIN! (While slaughtering dozens of passengers, wearing they faces, and other nasty things.)

Websites of Praise

2006-02-20T23:31:00.000-06:00

Long ago in the age of the old World of Darkness (also know as the 90s), White Wolf decided to create a community for fan's roleplaying websites. This web portal, known as the Dark Spiral, is home of hundreds of fan-sanctioned pages covering each of White Wolf Studios various systems and games. If you scroll to the bottom of our Healing Scars webpage you might even notice that we are also in this little club. Unfortunately, the folks behind White Wolf have a terrible habit of over-extending their resources. And such is the case with the Dark Spiral. Well over half of the links are broken. And the ones that do work, well... the quality and content is certainly lacking. The project is, and has been for some time now, in a state of limbo.

There are a few decent fan sites, in and out of Dark Spiral, that I frequently pass by. Sorting the good from the bad is often comparable to the "needle in a haystack theory", so I figured listing the one's I've found might prove beneficial.

If anyone (and by that I mean anyone in the Healing Scars) wants to edit this post and add to the list please be my guest.

Ex Libris Nocturnis was originally founded nearly ten years ago. The site accepts submissions for pretty much every game White Wolf has published, from the World of Darkness to the Age of Sorrows to the Scarred Lands. If you are looking for some official-looking UNOFFICIAL content, then this is the place to be.

Shadown Essence is a website that gives players a glimpse into the World of Darkness and the added insight to what these games are all about. Shadow Essence also doubles as a friendly community where players and storytellers alike can add their voice to the chorus that is the World of Darkness. The artwork behind this site is absolutely stunning. I enjoy browsing the forums from time to time.

Wolfspoor is the leading portal for White Wolf rumors and official news. The PHP Nuke-based theme is a bit dated, but the news feeds are more reliable than the official White Wolf site.

The Werewolf Forsaken LiveJournal Community has a decent fanbase and posts some of the best session summaries on the net. I highly recommendmend reading the Silence of Time sessions. You also might want to check out another LiveJournal site called Garou Nation, which hosts chronicles based in the Werewolf: the Apocalypse universe.

Pentex: Old and New

2006-02-19T15:58:00.000-06:00

In White Wolf Game Studio's setting the World of Darkness, specifically the role-playing game Werewolf: The Apocalypse, the Pentex Corporation was a vast fictional conglomerate dedicated to promoting the agenda of the Wyrm. Though primarily staffed by mundane humans unaware of the corporation's sinister mission, its upper management is a group of corrupt humans and outright supernatural beings fully aware of the existence of the Triat and werewolves.

The public face of the Pentex corporation itself appears to the public to possibly be a corporate consulting firm or administrative assistance firm. Its true method, however, is to own other businesses. As such, "Pentex" not only refers to the central corporation, but also to hundreds of other companies and businesses, openly owned or secretly controlled by the Pentex upper management. This allows Pentex to achieve vertical integration, allowing them to secure powerful but clandestine monopolies.

That was the a definition of the old. As you all know, the new World of Darkenss has completely done away with this corporation. When writing our new stories I thought it would be interesting to reimagine Pentex in our specific setting. It is VERY important to realize that Pentex is not directly related to the old World of Darkness version. There are several important differences. I will list a few below, leaving some ommited because I want you, as characters, to discover them for yourselves.

- Pentex is a single corporation. They are located in Alaska. They are powerful but not in the old way of possessing hundreds of subsidiary companies.

- It is unknown if they are truly evil in a spiritual sense. Only the connection to their parvovirus production and David Simmons has been uncovered.

- The CIA has been keeping tabs on them. This is apparent from Wades confession to Marcus Blair.

- They have been performing experiments on children. The latest examples of this are Chelsea and Wendy. Wendy has confessed mutliple thoughts of various individuals have been infussed into her contiousness for reasons unknown.

They are plenty more, but that should be enough to spark your imagination. Healing Scars, remember that the clock is ticking towards your death. Finding a cure to the virus can only happen with a clearer understanding of the enemy at hand.

Multiple Character Sheets

2006-02-18T11:59:00.000-06:00

It is the blueprint for your character, a roadmap of sorts that displays that statistics necessary to game in the world of darkness. Having a backup character sheet is a welcome advantage. We’ve all lost a character sheet from time to time, and I certainly don’t want to name any names. But I think I will anyways. ADAM.

ADAM, ADAM, ADAM.

ADAM lost his character sheet three sessions in a row. And if the simple guilt of doing so is not discouraging enough, I present the world (a.k.a. the small fan-base reading this stuff) with a great picture of Ben ragging on ADAM. Good lordy there's a lot of knee exposure going down!

Moving on, I did a little research on some variants to the standard White Wolf Forsaken sheet. They are from Mr. Gone’s website and I think they do a splendid job of changing things up a bit. Here are a few that caught my eye. Feel free to hop on the site for yourself (link below) and do some hunting yourself.

Werewolf 4 Page Expanded Sheet

Werewolf 2 Page Sheet - Old World of Darkness Style

Predators Character Sheet

Werewolf Totem Character Sheet

P.S. We all love Mr. Adam, even if he forgets and forgets and forgets. Will he break the 3 session record? Stay tuned next week!

Source: Mr. Gone's Character Sheets

Session 8. Conspiracy, Incorporated

2006-02-17T16:20:00.000-06:00

The Healing Scars make preparations for their journey to Lancaster. Nails purchases some body armor. Eric creates a small fetish out of Deacon’s computer. On the way to Lancaster the pack stops at a rest station. Nails confronts Marcus and informs him that he is no longer Alpha. Marcus fires back that this is not up for debate currently; that they can discuss the matter later. Nails again tells the Uratha that he is the Alpha and will fight if necessary. One-on-one combat breaks out. In the end, Marcus is overpowered by Nails as they struggle about in a grapple. Several times Blair breaks free only to be confronted by the Blood Talon. Through some impressive social persuasion, Marcus convinces Nails to temporarily ease his attack. Nails then calls to his fellow packmates to vote and choose who will be pack Alpha. After some debate, Eric, Sam (who oddly gets a vote), and Deacon make their choice. Nicholas “Nails” DeWinter becomes the new Healing Scars Alpha. After a long conversation between Nails and Marcus, Marcus agrees to be his beta.

They finally reach Lancaster and book a room in one of the hotels. A voice message has been cryptically left for Marcus Blair. The receptionist was paid to route a message to whatever room they were staying in. Deacon performs a thorough sweep of the hotel room for any bugs, finding none. Agent Wade from the CIA has important business to discuss and asks Marcus to call him back. The Healing Scars debate the results of calling back the CIA agent. Deacon is notably worried about the CIA and wants no connection to this situation. Tonya says she dated a guy in the KGB who has connections in Lancaster. She might be able to set up a meeting but wants the Scars there for protection. They agree. She sets up a meeting for later that night. They decide to hold off calling Agent Wade in hopes that Tonya’s connection pays off.

At the club, Tonya talks with on old flame named Fillip. He tells her that the CIA are working with the MIA and are everywhere. Crime is down due to all the increased special agents mucking around. Fillip recognizes Sam Sky, who is Eric at the time, as an ex-member of the local KGB gang. Sam owes their employer Alexis 1,000 pounds, which is paid out by Deacon. The first 500 anyways is paid. Fillip calls his boss and arranges a meeting at the park, tomorrow at 8. Meanwhile Deacon woos a girl and gets her number. They leave and prepare for the next night.

Back at the hotel room, Deacon does a little prying online and finds some info about the town. Lancaster is fairly small; the only real areas of importance are the park, a museum, and Lancaster castle. The castle catches their attention. It doubled as a prison and held the execution of some nasty witches back in the day.

In the previous session, Pentex had phoned Marcus demanding Chelsea. They claimed to be holding Lindsey hostage and would kill her in 24 hours, if he didn’t agree to deliver the girl. The “clock”, as you might say, is ticking down and Marcus is running out of time. Chelsea is in the shadow with OMD (Old Man Diaper, Shadow Wind) as Marcus has no intention of making a trade. There is little he can do. He’s not even sure if they will call, seeing as Marcus got rid of his phone since it was bugged (see last session). The 24 hour comes and goes. Nothing has happened.

Eric Sky uses his connections with the dead and searches the immediate area for a spirit. Perhaps someone in the land of the unliving can offer a clue. In doing so, he discovers a terrible truth. The spirit of Lindsey is in the hotel room with them. She is dead. Eric informs Marcus of this unfortunate event and acts as emissary between the two.

Lindsey is confused but eventually realizes that she is no longer alive. She tells them that Pentex killed her shortly after her capture. Marcus apologizes for all that has happened. She forgives him for everything and asks him to look after the girl. Lindsey crosses over into the unknown and, as Marcus drains the spiritual essence from her body, she finds peace.

Marcus, with nothing else to loose, makes the call to Agent Wade. Unfortunately, the number is no longer in service. Is Wade connected to Pentex? Only time will tell.

Previously in London, a new murder/rape took place and had “Junior” written all over it. But the scent at the crime scene was not David’s and also led the Healing Scars to a bus stop. After a bit of prying they discovered that this bus stop was going to Lancaster. Nails decides there is always a chance that the scent of the killer is fresh in Lancaster and the Scars might be able to track it to the source. Using their keen Urathan instincts (and much of the day) they finally find the killer’s scent which leads directly to…Lancaster castle.

But someone else is there, and it is not the killer or any affiliate of Simmons. A man with CIA written all over him approaches asking for Marcus. It is Wade, who in a lone conversation with Marcus begins by apologizing for the lapse in his phone number. Pentex is on to him, and he can hide no longer. Wade dedicated his life to exposing Pentex for the evil that they are and it’s about to cost him his life. He doesn’t explain why or how, but it appears that Wade has accepted his fate. He wishes Blair the best of luck, giving him a manila folder crammed with files. He leaves. Marcus opens the folder and scans them over. The majority of the articles deal with wolf deaths related to a parvovirus. The notes suggest some kind of conspiracy and draw several relations to Pentex, identified as an Alaskan company. His investigation is cut short by their Alpha, who reminds him that they have more important business: entering the castle and finding the killer.

Eric Sky uses the Two World Eyes gift and takes a gaze into the Shadow. What he finds is a fiery image of David Simmons that knocks him to the ground. The castle is crawling with Junior’s mojo. After steeping into a nearby locus the Scars get a full glimpse of the castle from the Shadow. A dome of fire shells the entire place, preventing entrance (Ben kicks himself again for not buying the manipulate fire gift). They will have to find a locus inside the castle if they want to confront him.

The Scars try to find a way to break into the castle. Eric pulls out his whip, the Conduit Fetish, and “castlevanias” himself to the roof. Nails feels something is out of place. The resurrection book, still in his possession, is calling to him. He opens the book and enters into a trance. Beside him now is a young version of Simmons, who engages in a playful conversation. He asks Nails why he thinks he’s bad. Upon hearing about Nails oath to the Destroyer Wolf to kill him, the boy confesses to Nails that the Destroyer also contacted him. Confused, Nails pushes this aside and continues that he will put the boy down and that Junior is not Father Wolf. He agrees with the Scar’s alpha to a point. He says that Father Wolf is inside of him, guiding his actions in an attempt to right the wrongs of his own people. He tells him that wolves had their chance. Simmons and his followers are going to purge the gauntlet entirely. The age of the Border Marshes is over. Once the link between the physical and the spiritual world is severed, he will rule between the two worlds of Father Wolf. Problem solved. Nails wants no more of this banter; his vision ends.

DeWinter must confront his master and ask the Destroyer himself on the matter. He gathers his rage and focuses his power into the warrior form. As mighty Gauru he smashes clinched fists into the castle walls. The force is incredible, if not legendary. One side of the stone wall is reduced to splinters. Through the hole in the wall the Destroyer Wolf gazes at his child, offering him the answers he seeks.

“You cannot trust this Simmons, this abomination of our people. He is a coward; he is weak. He slithers as a snake, and in his slipperiness he has tried to fool you. I have never spoken with him, but he would like you to believe this. That is because his is a poison, trying to twist and infect through misdirection and confusion. Remain steadfast in your efforts! He is a false prophet, a blasphemer of the highest offense. This domain is gathering place of those who would follow his bidding: humans, Pure, and even our kind. They are lost Sheep following their Shepard. Answer this: what good is a Shepard without his Flock? Remove them and the Shepard is a Shepard no more.”

Destroyer fades. Nail knows what he must do.

He will destroy. He will kill them all.

THIS ISN'T THE SUMMARY

2006-02-11T18:50:00.000-06:00

But I'm tired of waiting for it so I'm going to tell you part of it. The session began with the trip to Lancaster being discussed. Eventually, the group agrees to leave the apartment and drive to a hotel in Lancaster. On the drive, they stop in a rest area. Nails takes the opportunity to discuss heavy things on his mind and challenges Marcus for authority of the pack. Marcus tries civil discussion with Nails over the matter, knowing that he'd intended to relinquish control to Nails of his own accord after the present matter (Lancaster) was concluded. It comes to a physical challenge between Marcus and Nails, and though Marcus fights admirably and lithely, Nails eventually gets the upper hand. Marcus stops the fight and tries to reason with Nails one last time. Nails, in an uncharacteristic venture, allows the group to decide by a process of vote, more fitting to Marcus's democratic style. Deacon's inclination is to let Nails attempt to be alpha. Eric and Sam are, of course, divided. Marcus, feeling the effects of the battle and short on patience, tries to win the group over but is unsuccessful. Nails is alpha.

Sensing that this might cause Marcus to leave the pack to pursue his own impending troubles with the kidnapped Lindsay and the endangered Chelsea, Nails thinks as best he can and offers Marcus beta position at his side. Marcus is, after all, best fit to lead after him, he thinks, but Nails' believes that his insight into Simmons might be best put on point for this portion of their journey.
After an honest talk between Nails and Marcus in which they put aside differences, the group continues to travel to Lancaster. A message is waiting for Marcus when they arrive... ah, I forget some of this stuff. And I don't want to spoil some surprises either... Well, let's just say that when Eithan does publish the rest, it'll be a lot more thorough. And he can erase this whenever it goes up.

Conspiracy Files

2006-02-02T15:18:00.000-06:00

Enclosed are the documents cryptically given to Marcus Blair by CIA Agent Wade during session 8. Important passages have been highlighted and various notes speculate that a cover-up of sorts exists. What does this all mean? For this GM, mum's the word.

My werewolf players, especially Chris, know how much I love using in-game props. Recently, Chris reminded me about one I used for a Dark Ages chronicle years and years ago. It was an ordinary map that, if you folded it a certain way, revealed a hidden location. Definitely cheesy (esp. if you've seen Romancing the Stone) but it gives me a chuckle in remembrance. I also enjoyed creating Rid's banishment docs, and then watching Marcus pour through the text looking for a loophole.

I honestly don't know how much time it took to orchestrate these documents, but it was definitely the longest bout of research done for the stories as of yet. I really hope you all enjoy. If you like, feel free to use the comments to analyze the crap out of them.

A New Experiment

2006-01-31T11:01:00.000-06:00

I’m going to try something new with the session summaries. If this experiment fails, I will revert back to the old way of doing things. In the past, I have been trying to write out detailed descriptions of every character's actions during the session. The problem is that the summaries turn into pages upon pages of text. My free time is slipping away more and I’ve struggled a lot these past few weeks to crank out the summaries. While I believe that the descriptive content is important, I’d like to approach writing them from a different angle.

The next session summary will be posted in a more condensed format than the last few. I am trying to limit the length of the initial post to about 2-3 pages. With the old system, players used the comment system to note any mistakes or additions. Then, I would edit the post and correct the necessary information. Instead I would like to cut out myself as a middle-man.

After the initial posting, I want to give the players FULL ACCESS to edit the session sumary post however they see fit. If a particular passage needs more description, simply add a paragraph or two. The comment system then can act as a log to note anyone’s major changes. So, if you alter a major section of the text, just post a brief comment about what you changed. Note: Small things, like spelling corrections or a sentence restructure really don’t need to be documented as a comment.

We’ll try this format out for the Session 8 Summary. If it sucks, then we’ll go back to the old method. The major advantage would be the speed of documentation. It will take much less time for me to crank out a brief summary (that can be edited) versus writing a more detailed one. Then I can concentrate more time on writing the next session, and you'll all have the summaries posted a bit faster.

Comments, questions, gripes? My ears are open.

THIS IS NOT THE SESSION SUMMARY

2006-01-29T12:47:00.000-06:00

But I am curious as to when it will be posted. Other than that, what are our plans for the next session? Is this Friday happening, or is there another time that we're considering?

Be looking for a new post from Eric, too. It will be... umm... new.

-Ben/Eric