A roleplaying session in 1920s Berlin
Apr. 19th, 2018 11:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackTeam non-overthink, don't read this :)
Fellow players and GM, thank you for bringing this to life! The write up is moderately fictionalised, as what's fun to play doesn't always correspond to what's fun to read, but I hopefully covered most of the key plot points. I may have some details wrong, point out anything you think should be corrected.
The setting: 1920s Berlin. Reeling from war, economy devastated, but glamour and social exuberance riding high. Fascists and communists clashing in the streets, and in the cover story of the mysterious mover-and-shaker Karl.
A mismatched band of opportunists in over their heads are orchestrating a heist from an aristocratic estate with an unpleasant reputation, on behalf of the suspicious and enigmatic owner of the Moka Efti nightclub, of several items which it seems more dangerous to posses than not.
Several vignettes play out.
Coiffurist
American girl-about-town Virginia disappeared with her 'coiffurist' for more than 48 hours, but is widely expected to turn up to the heist fashionable late with something the rest of the team forgot just in the nick of time.
Jermiah and Jackie
Small time conman and expectant father Jackie and young, unworldly but insightful mormon missionary Elder Jeremiah drop in to visit a chemist of questionable ethics in search of reliable dog-knockout-juice.
Elder Jeremiah: We're not going to kill any dogs, are we?
Jackie: Well, putting people to sleep temporarily is a dicey art, but I'd say we have a reasonable chance.
Elder Jeremiah:
Stopped by the police on the way back:
Police: Who are you?
Jackie: Jackie. Small time street hustler. I mean, respectable businesshuman.
Elder Jeremiah: Well, that's a very ecumenical question.
Jackie: It's ok. He's innocent. He's an american.
Jackie: Casually takes hold of the bottle of volatile chemicals
Jackie: I ROLLED DOUBLE ONE ON MY HIDE ROLL? DID YOU HEAR ME? I SAID I ROLLED SNAKEYES.
Police: What's this?
Elder (thinking fast): Sleeping draft for his wife.
Jackie: Whew.
Police: And can we see your bribes?
Police: I mean papers.
Elder: Here you are.
Police: That's a nice decorated cane you have there.
Elder: Oh yes, it is, isn't it!
Police: Are you looking to get rid of it?
Elder: Not really. Why?
Jackie: Oh, except that you were just saying, maybe it would make a good charitable gift.
Police: I could find someone who wants it.
Elder: Oh? Oh! Yes, right. Thank you. Indeed.
Police: And can we see the boot.
Jackie: Good job we're finally out of corpses.
Jackie: I mean, bribes.
Police: And don't let us catch you doing...
Police: Uh, whatever it was we stopped you for again.
Antiquarian Shaw
Antiquarian Shaw: I can't believe I didn't think to ask this before.
Shaw: But can I find records of a ancient artifact of the sort we're supposedly intended to recover being sold recently?
GM: *roll roll* Yes!
GM: There are several possible leads but something something Nineveh.
Jack: Oh wait, I vaguely remember this.
God: Go to Nineveh and tell them to stop being bible nazis
Jonah: Fuck you AAAAAAH GIANT FISH OK well that was easier than I expected
Jack (reading wikipedia): ...according to Nahum, "Its end was strange, sudden, and tragic"
Jack: In a manner presumably unrelated to this artifact of unspecified power and ominousness we're about to mess with.
Last minute prep
Someone: Rope?
Someone: Check.
Someone: More guns.
Someone: Check.
Elder: I have a hunting knife!
Someone: Blackened crowbar.
Someone: Check.
Someone: Bring forged documents for suborned guard, get him to feed doctored meat to dogs just before shift change
Someone: *roll roll* check
Jackie: Petrol, so if we can destroy anything if we fail to carry it away
Karl: Fire...
Someone: Check.
The first infiltration
Guard: Who's that?
Karl and Jackie: BANG BANG BANG BANG
GM: OK the guard is down and...
Jackie: Can I borrow your hunting knife?
Elder: OK.
Jackie: kssssht *throat slitting noise*
GM: OK then
Jackie: Here's your knife.
Jackie: Sorry about the cold blooded murder.
Shaw: Fuck.
GM: How many mental ailments have you acquired so far?
Shaw: 2
GM: Bzzzt! Try 3.
GM: Oh, and your gun jammed
Jackie (looking at guard): Oh, look, free gun.
The outhouses
Karl: This is the one with the poison gas we were going to sell to communist extremists?
Karl: I mean, the highest bidder
Karl: I mean... *frantically riffles through mysterious backstory*
Jackie: *fiddles meticulously with lock*
Jackie: Darn. This one seems particularly difficult. I don't think I can do it.
Jackie: We won't be able to sell the unforgivable hell-gas to ANYONE
Jackie: We'll just have to incinerate it on site. Better than letting these guys have it.
Karl: No! We need that for... um, reasons that are good for all of us.
Jackie: Burn it.
Karl: Fire...
Karl: No!
Jackie: Fire.... shiny fire.
Karl: *eyes glitter hungrily* fire... No, damnit.
Outside the house
Something: moans ominously.
Elder: Um, hi! Is that someone?
Elder: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! Unspeakable and eldrich mental anguish.
Shaw: You ok, man?
Grating under house: *writhes tentacles*
Jackie: Did you see that?
Karl: It's a trick of the light.
Grating: Looks like bushes blowing in the wind.
Inside the house
Elder: I'll stay here in the kitchen *shakes* *shakes*
Everyone else: That's the door to the cellar.
Everyone else: Yup.
Jackie: OK, I do the thing with the lock
GM: It swings open. Writhing branch tentacles grab you and pull you inside.
GM: OK, good session! See you next time.
TODO list for next time (if possible)
Rescue Jackie if possible
Destroy eldrich horror if possible by means of petrol and grating
Steal classic cars
Steal anything else with a decent resale value
Destroy poison gas
Find out too late what other plot-significant things are inside the lab where the gas was
Avoid retribution from the estate owners
Avoid retribution from our client (uh, I mean, probably)
Resolve various as-yet-mysterious political machinations
Get Shaw a replacement shop
Convert people to mormonism (or convert to a more liberal form of christianity)
Take care of Jackie's widow (if necessary)
Get out of Berlin before the 1930s.
Fellow players and GM, thank you for bringing this to life! The write up is moderately fictionalised, as what's fun to play doesn't always correspond to what's fun to read, but I hopefully covered most of the key plot points. I may have some details wrong, point out anything you think should be corrected.
The setting: 1920s Berlin. Reeling from war, economy devastated, but glamour and social exuberance riding high. Fascists and communists clashing in the streets, and in the cover story of the mysterious mover-and-shaker Karl.
A mismatched band of opportunists in over their heads are orchestrating a heist from an aristocratic estate with an unpleasant reputation, on behalf of the suspicious and enigmatic owner of the Moka Efti nightclub, of several items which it seems more dangerous to posses than not.
Several vignettes play out.
Coiffurist
American girl-about-town Virginia disappeared with her 'coiffurist' for more than 48 hours, but is widely expected to turn up to the heist fashionable late with something the rest of the team forgot just in the nick of time.
Jermiah and Jackie
Small time conman and expectant father Jackie and young, unworldly but insightful mormon missionary Elder Jeremiah drop in to visit a chemist of questionable ethics in search of reliable dog-knockout-juice.
Elder Jeremiah: We're not going to kill any dogs, are we?
Jackie: Well, putting people to sleep temporarily is a dicey art, but I'd say we have a reasonable chance.
Elder Jeremiah:
Stopped by the police on the way back:
Police: Who are you?
Jackie: Jackie. Small time street hustler. I mean, respectable businesshuman.
Elder Jeremiah: Well, that's a very ecumenical question.
Jackie: It's ok. He's innocent. He's an american.
Jackie: Casually takes hold of the bottle of volatile chemicals
Jackie: I ROLLED DOUBLE ONE ON MY HIDE ROLL? DID YOU HEAR ME? I SAID I ROLLED SNAKEYES.
Police: What's this?
Elder (thinking fast): Sleeping draft for his wife.
Jackie: Whew.
Police: And can we see your bribes?
Police: I mean papers.
Elder: Here you are.
Police: That's a nice decorated cane you have there.
Elder: Oh yes, it is, isn't it!
Police: Are you looking to get rid of it?
Elder: Not really. Why?
Jackie: Oh, except that you were just saying, maybe it would make a good charitable gift.
Police: I could find someone who wants it.
Elder: Oh? Oh! Yes, right. Thank you. Indeed.
Police: And can we see the boot.
Jackie: Good job we're finally out of corpses.
Jackie: I mean, bribes.
Police: And don't let us catch you doing...
Police: Uh, whatever it was we stopped you for again.
Antiquarian Shaw
Antiquarian Shaw: I can't believe I didn't think to ask this before.
Shaw: But can I find records of a ancient artifact of the sort we're supposedly intended to recover being sold recently?
GM: *roll roll* Yes!
GM: There are several possible leads but something something Nineveh.
Jack: Oh wait, I vaguely remember this.
God: Go to Nineveh and tell them to stop being bible nazis
Jonah: Fuck you AAAAAAH GIANT FISH OK well that was easier than I expected
Jack (reading wikipedia): ...according to Nahum, "Its end was strange, sudden, and tragic"
Jack: In a manner presumably unrelated to this artifact of unspecified power and ominousness we're about to mess with.
Last minute prep
Someone: Rope?
Someone: Check.
Someone: More guns.
Someone: Check.
Elder: I have a hunting knife!
Someone: Blackened crowbar.
Someone: Check.
Someone: Bring forged documents for suborned guard, get him to feed doctored meat to dogs just before shift change
Someone: *roll roll* check
Jackie: Petrol, so if we can destroy anything if we fail to carry it away
Karl: Fire...
Someone: Check.
The first infiltration
Guard: Who's that?
Karl and Jackie: BANG BANG BANG BANG
GM: OK the guard is down and...
Jackie: Can I borrow your hunting knife?
Elder: OK.
Jackie: kssssht *throat slitting noise*
GM: OK then
Jackie: Here's your knife.
Jackie: Sorry about the cold blooded murder.
Shaw: Fuck.
GM: How many mental ailments have you acquired so far?
Shaw: 2
GM: Bzzzt! Try 3.
GM: Oh, and your gun jammed
Jackie (looking at guard): Oh, look, free gun.
The outhouses
Karl: This is the one with the poison gas we were going to sell to communist extremists?
Karl: I mean, the highest bidder
Karl: I mean... *frantically riffles through mysterious backstory*
Jackie: *fiddles meticulously with lock*
Jackie: Darn. This one seems particularly difficult. I don't think I can do it.
Jackie: We won't be able to sell the unforgivable hell-gas to ANYONE
Jackie: We'll just have to incinerate it on site. Better than letting these guys have it.
Karl: No! We need that for... um, reasons that are good for all of us.
Jackie: Burn it.
Karl: Fire...
Karl: No!
Jackie: Fire.... shiny fire.
Karl: *eyes glitter hungrily* fire... No, damnit.
Outside the house
Something: moans ominously.
Elder: Um, hi! Is that someone?
Elder: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! Unspeakable and eldrich mental anguish.
Shaw: You ok, man?
Grating under house: *writhes tentacles*
Jackie: Did you see that?
Karl: It's a trick of the light.
Grating: Looks like bushes blowing in the wind.
Inside the house
Elder: I'll stay here in the kitchen *shakes* *shakes*
Everyone else: That's the door to the cellar.
Everyone else: Yup.
Jackie: OK, I do the thing with the lock
GM: It swings open. Writhing branch tentacles grab you and pull you inside.
GM: OK, good session! See you next time.
TODO list for next time (if possible)
Rescue Jackie if possible
Destroy eldrich horror if possible by means of petrol and grating
Steal classic cars
Steal anything else with a decent resale value
Destroy poison gas
Find out too late what other plot-significant things are inside the lab where the gas was
Avoid retribution from the estate owners
Avoid retribution from our client (uh, I mean, probably)
Resolve various as-yet-mysterious political machinations
Get Shaw a replacement shop
Convert people to mormonism (or convert to a more liberal form of christianity)
Take care of Jackie's widow (if necessary)
Get out of Berlin before the 1930s.