Sam: Now might be a good time to figure initiative. Wits+Alertness, dif 4.
Everyone rolls
Bill: No successes.
John: Two successes.
Nate: One success.
Ed: Three successes.
Sam: The vampire got two successes and the magician got one success. Allan, go.
Ed: I'm going to blast the vampire with fire. Forces 3 / Prime 2.
Nate: You do realize that there is an entire audience of Sleeper witnesses, don't you?
John: Maybe they'll think it's part of the magic show?
Sam: Hmm... Only if you can find a way to make it seem like part of the magic show. Otherwise it's Vulgar.
Ed (ooc): Either way, we have a vampire on our hands. I'd rather soak a little Paradox than get shredded in a brawl with the
undead, wouldn't you?
John (ooc): This is true...
Sam: Difficulty 7.
Ed: Allan says some magic words, makes a few arcane gestures, and sends a plume of flame to consume the vampire.
(rolls) Two successes.
John (ooc): With three Forces-wielding or Prime-hurling mages in this cabal, this ought to be a short combat.
Sam: That's four health levels of damage. (rolls) Allan's fire envelops the vampire's head and torso. When it fades,
the vampire appears to have suffered no damage. He doesn't look particularly pleased by this form of greeting, however. John,
what's your Dexterity?
Nate (ooc): Two successes worth of damage and it doesn't even singe the skin? How is that even possible?
John (ooc): Lots of dots in Fortitude, maybe? And my Dex is four.
Sam: On the bright side, Homer gets to go before the vampire.
John: Is it possible for me to grab the stake in the lid of the coffin and break it off?
Sam: Okay. You grab the stake. The vampire backhands Homer. (rolls)
John: Do I get a dodge?
Sam: Sure. Use one less die, though.
John: (rolls) Three successes.
Sam: You're lucky. His blow only grazes you. Soak Bashing 3.
John: Gah! (rolls) One success.
Sam: The blow knocks Homer backward several feet. Walter, what's your Dex?
Nate: Two.
Sam: Go ahead.
Nate: I'm praying for divine power to smite this creature of Satan. Prime 2. One Quintessence to charge the spell, one
Quint to lower difficulty. I'm also burning a point of Willpower.
Sam: Difficulty 6, then.
Nate: (rolls) Oh my God! Three successes. Plus one for Willpower. That's six health levels of damage.
John: A hit. A very palpable hit.
Sam (smirking): Not bad. (rolls) Walter severely burns one of its shoulders.
John (ooc): Definitely Fortitude. That or the GM is cheating.
Bill (ooc): Accusing the GM of cheating is like accusing Satan of breaking the rules. You know it's happening, but there
isn't anything you can do to stop him.
Sam (ooc): My dice are just really cooperating with me.
John (ooc): Is Kubla Khan hiding behind that GM screen, too?
Sam (ooc): Oh sleep it is a gentle thing, beloved from pole to pole. If you persist in this, dear boy, I'll have poor
Homer's soul.
John (ooc): Very funny, Sam.
Bill (ooc): What is William the Wonderful doing?
Sam: The magician runs like hell has set its hounds loose upon him.
Bill (ooc): It figures. My turn, yet?
Sam: Yeah. Go ahead, Draw.
Bill: Hmm... Let's see. What would be the best thing Draw could do under the circumstances? I'm going to chase down the
magician to...um...question him.
Sam: Okay. You can keep pace with him, but he is still ahead of you by a little bit.
John (ooc): What about the chain gang of wraiths?
Sam: Oh yes. I had almost forgotten.
Bill (muttering)(ooc): Damn. I had hoped he'd forgotten about that...
Sam: (rolls) They let William go, but they throw you back onto the stage.
Bill (ooc): Note to self - Do not try to crowd surf on an audience of wraiths.
Sam: Allan's turn. Oh. Did I mention that you now have four points of Paradox?
Ed: That's not too bad. I'm going to try to fry the vampire again. Can I use a point of Quintessence?
Sam: Sure. That makes it difficulty 6.
Ed: (rolls) Damn. No successes.
Bill (ooc): (looks at the dice) I hate to say this, but that's a botch, Ed.
Ed (ooc): A botch? What's that?
John (ooc): Something very bad that's about to bite you in the ass. Tell him what he's won, oh mighty GM.
Sam: Your Effect fails. Moreover, you earn another 8 points of Paradox, bringing your total up to twelve. Throwing
fireballs around in front of hundreds of Sleepers is not a good idea. Let me think. What would be a suitable punishment?
Bill (ooc): A hole opens up under Allan's feet and sends him to hell?
Ed (ooc): What?
Sam: Twelve points of Paradox does not a Paradox Realm make. Instead, your skin goes pale and cold, as though the energy
you hurled at the vampire had been sucked out of your body. You are also ravenously hungry and thirsty. Give me a Willpower
check, dif 10.
Everyone (ooc): Jeez!
Ed: (rolls) Two successes.
Sam: You have a strong urge to get down on your hands and knees and drink the pool of blood around the coffin.
Ed (ooc): Yuck.
Sam: Go, Homer.
John: I'm going to try to stake the vampire.
Sam: Dif 8.
John: (rolls) One success.
Sam: It doesn't dodge. Damage?
John: (rolls) Only three successes on damage. Not enough to stake it through the heart.
Sam: The vampire shouts at you, but doesn't attack. "Don't you see? They WANT you to destroy me!"
Nate: "They? What are you talking about?"
Sam: The vampire calms some. "This carnival is run by the Fallen Ones, demon-hearted Nephandi who enslave the spirits of
the dead to aid them in their sinister cause. I am your enemies' enemy, sirs. Does not that give you a reason to pause?"
Ed: "Why should we trust you? You're nothing but a murderer, Leech."
Sam: "I can understand why you don't trust me. I confess I came to this place seeking the blood of magi like yourselves.
Even now, I am half-starved to drink deeply of your sweet, Quintessence-rich vitae. But that is no longer my intention. The
Fallen Ones have already purchased many souls from the Shadowlands and bound them. I shudder to think what they offered the
dead for those slaves. Tales abound of people disappearing wherever this carnival alights. But now I know the truth, and I
seek only to destroy this terrible place. Will you help me?"
John: "Who are you? What do you know of the Magician named William?"
Sam: "I am Azreal Gargamel. William is one of them. We must catch and slay him before he escapes."
Ed: Allan still doesn't trust this vampire, but he'll try to figure out if he is telling the truth.
Bill: Draw is oddly livid at the mention of the Fallen Ones. "Lead on, Azreal. We must not let the joys of the carnival
be poisoned by the Fallen Ones."
Nate: "It is imperative that we protect the innocent from harm. The Church will not tolerate the buying and selling of
human souls."
John: "William is marked for death. I must kill him."
Sam: Now that everyone has jumped on the plot wagon, Azreal leads you through the crowd and out into the night.
ST (Sam) - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Draw (Bill) - William Blake
Homer (John) - John Keats
Walter (Nate) - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Allan (Ed) - Edgar Allan Poe