Quote from: sammarlowe;700487just wanted to congratulate you on a great idea.  Back in the day I used to play COC and really liked  gangbusters the few times I played it in high school.  I recently started a PBP gangbusters on another site and it was great following through on the story arc your group has developed.  I can't wait to see what happens next, but am sorry the detective is dropping out of the story, it seemed like there was a lot of potential there (and as a law enforcement officer he is able to search avenues the others can't).  Is it possible to get a copy of your weapons guide?

Thanks again and keep up the good work.

Hi Sammarlowe, glad you are enjoying the write-ups!

Pretty much everyone in the game will miss the detective player. Unfortunately, last session when we talked to him he wouldn't even be getting home until we would be 2/3rds through the sessions.

For copyright reasons (meaning, I don't remember where I got everything from), I don't want to give out any "finished" material I have for my campaign. But the gun section of my rules is more or less the same as the stats I posted previously along with some pictures you can find on the net yourself and a one-sentence blurb about the weapon.

Session 21 - Cast of Characters

Father Clink Mulroney - Former Irish Roman Catholic priest turned gangster, now transforming into a monster with megalomaniac plans to take over the world after getting the Marduk Institute's secrets

Yulian Petranov - Bulgarian anarchist who murdered the governor and wants to take down the Marduk Institute, whom he sees as part of the elite controlling the government

Alan "Chaos" White - Irish orphan and pyromaniac, recently broken out of the Dunning Asylum to help blow up the Marduk Institute

Session 21 - Scene 1 (of 10)

Father Mulroney wakes the next morning to find that both arms and hands are now covered in scales. He does his best to cover up his transformation quickly, as a paranoid Chaos looks on.

Once he's ready, Mulroney cheeringly announces to Yulian that today is the day they take down the Marduk Institute. Yulian gives a less than enthusiastic grunt.

As they celebrate by eating more of Yulian's salted fish and washing it down with vodka prepared in the Bulgarian's wash bucket, Mulroney reminds Yulian they will need a boat in order to get to the island where the lake house is located.

Yulian believes he can get a boat at the docks. He tells Mulroney to handle getting the truck to transport the explosives.

The priest notes he might need to steal the truck, to which Yulian gives an unconcerned reply. When Mulroney elaborates he may need some help in the theft, the anarchist notes he's already helping by getting the boat.

Thinking about it more, Mulroney explains he has a plan to use Chaos to cause a disturbance to allow him to steal a truck. He then wants Yulian around to drive Chaos back (using his stolen car).

 After discussing it through with Yulian, the two decide that it would be easier to just use the stolen car to deliver the bomb, as it would still be big enough to carry the explosives.

Yulian then points out they still don't know where the island is. Father Mulroney suggests they search for the property records, believing they should start at the library.

Chaos, slowly emerging from his near catatonic state of psychosis, points out the father is incorrect. The best way to find the records of the property, the youth explains, is to go to the County Assessor's Office at the County Courthouse.

Session 21 - Scene 2 (of 10)

Yulian drives the three men downtown in Mulroney's stolen car. Chaos suggests they "go in blazing" to get the records, but Father Mulroney wants to take a more subtle approach.

The priest decides that since Chaos is rather insane and Yulian is a potentially wanted man, the safest thing is for him to go in alone. He tells Yulian not to let Chaos get out of the car and instructs him to keep the engine running.

As he gets out, Chaos asks if he's sure he doesn't want to go in shooting. Mulroney assures him he is, and points out there will be plenty of opportunities for shooting soon.

When Mulroney gets to the Assessor's Office window, a clerk asks what he can help him with. The father explains he is looking for a deed to an island, but the clerk explains there are many small islands out on the lake.

Father Mulroney tries to play it cool by feigning that he has forgotten the full name of the person he is looking in to and takes some time in getting it out. In the process, he accidentally picks the wrong conspirator's name and asks for the deed to the lake house owned by David Thomas Morgan.

The priest is surprised when the clerk explains no such property exists. He tries convincing the man to assist him, but fails. Dejected, he thanks the clerk and walks back out to the car.

When he opens the door to the car, Yulian starts asking right away if he was able to find the location. Mulroney says he ran into a little trouble.

Chaos sees this as justification that his plan to go in with guns blazing would have been the better choice. Mulroney, thinking of all of the Sheriff's Officers guarding the courthouse, still disagrees.

Yulian tells the priest he's already thought of a backup plan; he wants to go kidnap Valarie Hill. When he mentions the name, Mulroney realizes that Jonathan Allen Hill owns the lake house and not David Thomas Morgan. He explains as much to Yulian, while chiding himself for "pulling a Biggins".

Mulroney agrees the next step is to go see Valarie. Chaos asks who Valarie is. When Mulroney explains she is a pretty young girl with easy morals, the youth enthusiastically gives his vote they go see her.

Session 21 - Scene 3 (of 10)

As Yulian parks the car near the Bamboo Room, Mulroney comes up with a plan that doesn't involve trying to kidnap the young lady in broad daylight.

He explains to Yulian as the Bulgarian is a rather attractive, rugged man, he should get the information from Valarie by seducing her. The plan makes Yulian uneasy; he reminds the father his love is pledged to Karina.

The priest notes he's not talking about love; and describes it as "pure sausage animal lust". He tells the anarchist it is the only way to find out where it is. Yulian finally agrees to "sweet talk" Valarie, but pledges to go no further. Chaos wonders if they shouldn't just kidnap her instead, eyeing the length of rope lying in the corner with their other supplies.

After some discussion on who should go into the club when, Yulian finally goes in first with Mulroney and Chaos waiting behind to enter a few minutes later. He spots a young girl at the bar whom he assumes to be Valarie.

Yulian heads over to the bar and asks the flapper girl how she is doing. She warms to him instantly. She asks if he wants a coffee or "something else".

The Bulgarian says he wants something hotter than coffee. The girl asks what he has in mind, noting she can get things pretty hot.

Yulian says they should talk about it over a drink. He asks for vodka. She tells him she thinks they have that brand of coffee, and pours them both a drink.

She tells Yulian he is different from the types of men who usually come in. He simply says he is new in town. He notes his English is not so good, and says he is looking for someone to give him lessons – asking the girl if she can do it. She responds that she can, noting she is quite eloquent as she is good at using her tongue.

Yulian then says he does not wish to engage in the lessons at this location, as it is too public. Trying (and failing) to be subtle, he mentions he has heard there are many nice island homes in the area and asks if she knows of any where they could go.

Luckily for Yulian, the girl is too focused on him to notice the bizarre nature of the comment. She explains she does have a lake house that is very private, except when her father is there.

Mentally confirming he is talking to Valarie Hill, Yulian tells her that fate has brought them together.

Valarie tells him they'll have to wait for the lake house, as her father is currently using it. She does say there is a nice store room in the back. Yulian is less enthusiastic about that.

He tries to make a deal with her. He'll go to the storeroom with her, but wants her to tell him where the lake house is; he rambles on about knowing people who put together nice weekend getaways and promises her he'll put together a nice weekend for the two of them.

Valarie has no idea what Yulian is talking about with his rambling about a vacation getaway to her own home. She tells him to forget about the lake house for the moment, and instructs him to follow her into the back room. He reluctantly agrees.

Session 21 - Scene 4 (of 10)

By the time Mulroney and Chaos come in a few minutes later, they notice Yulian is already not around. Chaos tries to mingle while Mulroney approaches the man standing at the bar.

By coincidence, Mulroney has a bad coughing fit. The bartender notes the man has a bad cough, and offers him a nice, warm coffee. Mulroney accepts.

Mulroney gives his name as Father Jonesey. The bartender gives his as Mike.

Mulroney casually asks about Valarie. Mike explains she's in the back, "taking stock". The father notes she is very hard working, but Mike doesn't exactly confirm the thought.

The priest asks Mike what he thinks about the National Guard being in town. Mike is all for it, noting the city needs protecting after the bombing.

Mulroney agrees the bombing was terrible. He asks Mike if he knows anything about it, but the bartender does not.

Switching tactics, Mulroney says the National Guard must be coming down hard on the liquor sales. Mike corrects him that they only sell coffee and juice. He does agree sales have been down because of the curfew, though says that soldiers like coffee and juice too.

He also makes an off-hand comment about how all the boys like Valarie as well. Mulroney says it is always good to be a welcoming host, and Mike agrees Valarie is quite welcoming.

Mulroney tries asking about the juice they serve, noting he has "friends" with supplies. Mike tries to beg off of the conversation, saying he just pours the drinks and that the father will need to talk with Valarie about things like that.

When Mulroney presses the issue, Mike mentions the Hills already have a contract through Tolino. Mulroney slyly says his friend charges half the rate of the Tolinos, but Mike doesn't want to talk about it at all.

After a few minutes of small talk with the bartender, Yulian comes out from the back room. Mulroney notices he looks a bit flushed. When Valarie emerges a few seconds later, he realizes why.

Yulian heads back over to the bar and orders a coffee and a cigarette. Seeing the situation is in hand, Mulroney signals Chaos and the two exit back out to the car.

Watching the two leave, Yulian asks Valarie about her father being a businessman. She confirms, explaining how he has several restaurants and night clubs in the city. Yulian tells her he wants to discuss a business venture with her father.

He asks if he would be disturbing her father if he went out to the lake house to talk with him. Valarie thinks it would be OK, as he does business out there with his friends while they fish.

At the mention of fishing, Yulian notes his specialty is salted fish, and that sometime he will make it for her; he calls it an aphrodisiac. Valarie tells him she can't wait to taste his salted meat.

As best she can, Valarie draws out the instructions on how to get out to the lake house on one of the cocktail napkins. Yulian takes it and thanks her, noting he will never forget her (and given the burning sensation he is likely to start having in a few days, he is probably correct). She gives him a loving look.

After another couple of minutes, Yulian leaves. He meets back up with the others at the car. Mulroney asks how he did. Yulian describes the discussion with Valarie as very profitable. He shows the priest the map.

Session 21 - Scene 5 (of 10)

The next stop for the three men is the flophouse where Rocco Dillon is hiding out. As before, McGuirk lets them in after confirming with Rocco.

When they step in, Ma Dillon says hello to Father Mulroney. He responds in kind. She reminds him they still have dinner plans, and Mulroney suggests Saturday night (figuring by then he will be safely transformed). She's looking forward to it.

Rocco tells Nick to get the stuff. He brings out a crate with all of the explosive materials. Yulian and Chaos look it over, and think of the large bomb they'll be able to make.

Mulroney then asks about the uniforms and rifles. Rocco explains that those are proving harder to come by than he was expecting.

Rocco goes on to tell how there was a commotion in Bronzeville last night, preventing them from getting close enough to any of the soldiers.

When Mulroney asks what happened, Rocco explains that apparently some cop got into a fight with Leroy Brown. He goes on to say that at first the cop was going to shoot Brown, but then it turned into a scuffle and Brown cut the cop up with his razor. According to Rocco, Brown is now in prison and the cop is in the hospital.

He also mentions another problem that caused trouble in Bronzeville – when the soldiers showed up, one of them was shot by a white guy. Mulroney is curious about the name, but Rocco didn't hear it. He wonders if it was Cody Powers. Having Powers out on the loose could be dangerous.

Mulroney is nervous about not having the uniforms, but Rocco tells him not to worry. He promises to get them by the end of the night, noting he can probably get them by midnight if they are lucky. Mulroney agrees that would work, and arranges for Rocco to drop off the uniforms at Yulian's shack that night.

Rocco is surprised by the address Mulroney gives him, asking what he is doing out there as the area is a real shithole. Mulroney says it is low visibility. Rocco is unconvinced, saying that at least the dumpy hotel they are at has running water. Mulroney goes on to argue there are hardly any soldiers around out there either.

Mulroney also tells Rocco the area has excellent salted fish. Rocco says he'll take the priest's word on that.

Session 21 - Scene 6 (of 10)

Back at Yulian's shack, Chaos and the Bulgarian go to work building bombs. Chaos has some trouble, but neither man manages to blow themselves up and they create both the larger and smaller bombs. Once they are done, they load the larger explosive into the back of the car.

Father Mulroney then tells Chaos he has an important task for him. He tells him he needs to deliver the car bomb. Chaos agrees, telling the father he trusts him. Mulroney then tells the youth to "polish up the bomb a moment" and goes to have a quiet conversation with Yulian.

The priest tells Yulian that it is important the bomb is delivered directly to the home and there won't be any time for a delayed fuse. He wants Yulian to rig the car bomb to explode when a button is pressed in the car.

Mulroney goes on to say that he will distract Alan to allow Yulian to set it up. Yulian agrees, but states he doesn't want the button pushed while he's in the car. Mulroney explains his intention is to have Chaos push the button, saying that sacrifices will be needed.

The father then goes back over to Chaos telling him he needs to have a private conversation. He tells him that he is like a son to him and rambles on about the evils the Marduk Institute has planned for the children. In the end, he gets to the point that he needs Chaos to deliver the bomb by driving the car up to the house and pressing the button, which he tells the youth has a three minute delay.

Chaos is excited to be part of something so important, not to mention the chance to blow up a house with one of his bombs.

Session 21 - Scene 7 (of 10)

With the two bombs ready to go, the men decide to go deal with the boat situation next. Not wanting to take out the explosive-filled car, they take the trolley out to the docks.

Yulian suggests they start by looking for people at the Blue Parrot. When they enter, he spots some men he knows, but they are mostly stevedores. He approaches one of the other group of men to look for a barge pilot.

After some brief discussion, he manages to find a barge pilot named Frank willing to help him out with his need to transport a vehicle to a local island. Frank wants extra for working at night, after curfew.

Yulian explains to the man that soldiers will be using the boat, so there should not be any problems. Mulroney also offers a substantial fee, knowing he will never likely pay the man.

Frank agrees to the deal, and they arrange for a pier and time to meet at. Once the business is concluded they go back to Yulian's shack.

While they wait around, they make a quick check to verify they still have all of the supplies they need. Chaos goes to do a final check on the car bomb, which Mulroney recommends against. Luckily, the youth does not discover the trigger mechanism is lacking the delay.

Session 21 - Scene 8 (of 10)

Just after midnight, Rocco and his men show up at Yulian's shack. They drop off the three uniforms and Springfield .30-06 service rifles.

The men quickly put on the uniforms and make their way to the docks, driving slow and carefully in the car.

At the entrance of the docks, the car is stopped by a group of soldiers. The man in charge, a Corporal Wierzbowski, asks what they are doing and why they have the car. Mulroney tells Wierzbowski they are making a delivery for "Major Anderson".

The corporal is convinced and waves them through. Mulroney wishes them a good evening.

When they pull up to the pier, they find Frank waiting nervously. He tells them he was worried they weren't going to make it, as there are a lot of soldiers patrolling the area.

They load up the car onto the boat carefully and secure it without issue. Frank takes the boat out very slowly from the dock, making sure to keep it as quiet as possible.

Once they are away from the docks, Mulroney shows him the directions to the lake island. Yulian instructs Frank not to use any lights. Frank says it is good there is a full moon out that night then.

Session 21 - Scene 9 (of 10)

Half an hour later, they get within sight of the island. It appears to be heavily forested. They do spot a light on the island, but can't tell much about it. They can also see the docks, with a large yacht moored at it.

Yulian suggests they head for the docks on the island. Mulroney notes it will likely be guarded, but Yulian explains it will be the only way to unload the car.

Chaos suggests someone get dropped off first and scout the area. Yulian agrees they could use the dinghy.

Chaos heads off on the dinghy, taking one of the flashlights to signal with. Unfortunately, Chaos is not very skilled in the outdoors and has trouble with the rough water on the lake that night.

Before he can make it to shore, the dinghy capsizes, putting him in the water. Poor at swimming, Chaos struggles and begins to drown.

He eventually manages to make his way to the rocky shore along the island. Dripping wet and freezing, he makes his way towards the docks.

As he heads along the shore, Chaos has a strange feeling he is being watched from something out in the forest. He moves to get partially into the wooded area and hides behind a bush.

Crouched quietly, Chaos hears a rustling in the trees; he can tell something is definitely moving out there but he doesn't see what it is or where it is.

He waits around until he doesn't hear anything for several minutes. Chaos then makes a break for it, running at full speed towards the docks.

A tentacle comes out from the darkness, wrapping itself around one of his legs. It drags him from behind, sending him slamming into the ground.

As he turns around, he sees a child-sized monster coming towards him, with scaly skin, large yellow eyes, black tentacles attached to its sides, fins on its back, arms with large claws, and a mouth full of sharp teeth. He screams in absolute terror as he loses all control over his bladder.

Session 21 - Scene 10 (of 10)

Out on the lake, everyone hears a horrifying scream from the island. Yulian says quietly that he believes the docks are, in fact, guarded.

Father Mulroney begins putting together his backup plan. He plans to carry the smaller bomb and have Yulian drive the car in, though he cautions him not to use the button.

Instead, he tells the Bulgarian to drive the car straight at the house, then jump out at the last minute and shoot the car to activate the bomb. Yulian isn't so sure about the plan. He tries adjusting the timer, but has trouble and nearly sets off the bomb.

Mulroney tells him not to mess with the timer, but Yulian trusts his bomb-making skills over trying to make a hard shot.

The priest then goes into one of his rants about how he has lost Alan, his last boy, and they need to stop them. Yulian agrees, noting he is touched by the priest's display of emotion.

Father Mulroney has Frank take the boat in and land at the docks as Yulian keeps a close watch out for waterborne threats. Mulroney looks out on to the island. Out in the trees, he spots the silhouette of a monster dragging a body back up into the trees.

Once they stop, Frank ties the boat while Mulroney jumps off and makes a run for it. Yulian tells Frank to check out the yacht. When Frank asks why, he explains they must take the yacht as no one on the island can be allowed to leave.

As Yulian drives down the docks, he hears Frank's screams coming from the yacht. It doesn't take long before he passes by Mulroney. Heading up the small hill on the island, he makes his way towards the house.

Father Mulroney tries to run to catch up, not hearing the monster coming at him. From out of the trees, the child monster lands on the ground in front of him. It grazes him with an attack from one of its claws.

Mulroney unslings his shotgun and blasts the creature at short range. The black blood splashes everywhere and the creature howls in pain. Using its tentacles, it quickly heads back up into the trees. Mulroney, still in shock, has no chance to stop it before it is out of sight. Instead, he sprints his way up the hill towards the house.

Meanwhile, Yulian drives up to the side of the house. A man comes out, yelling to ask what he is doing. When he sees Yulian, he draws a gun and fires. The bullet dings off of the car.

Yulian jumps out of the car and rolls underneath over to the passenger side. The man starts coming around the car at him.

In response, Yulian starts running for the forest, turning to fire back at the car. One of the shots hits, but fails to set off the bomb.

Some distance away, Father Mulroney sees what is going on. He puts away the shotgun and unslings his rifle. He drops to a knee and fires at the car, but misses.

The man continues to fire at Yulian, but misses. Yulian stops and turns to fire. The old man goes down. His next shot hits the car, triggering the bomb...

Session 21 - Session Notes

This could very well have been the penultimate session of the campaign. I thought everything went great and we're in a good spot to get to the climax.

Oddly enough, this is a session where a new player started. I gave him the character of Chaos (having originally intended Chaos to remain a NPC) since it made the most sense where things were at. He did a great job.

Sadly, it doesn't appear that Det. VanDamme will feature any more in the story as that player is still looking to have a work schedule incompatible with the game.

Going in towards the finale, I'm hoping for a big finale. In some of my past campaigns, the finales tended to be anti-climactic at times (particularly the Rifts campaign, though my D&D Bronze Age game ended on a sour note as well).

Other thoughts on this session:
* Mulroney continued to slide on his sanity several times this session as did Chaos. Chaos is down to 6 SAN and Mulroney to 14. He officially gained the megalomania condition this game, though he'd been heading there anyway.

* I was glad somebody finally thought to go look up some records at the courthouse to find specific papers. Granted, they failed in this case but there have been all kinds of clues waiting for them there.

* Notice that the characters seem to actually come up with better plans in general as time goes on. By the end, they may yet become decent investigators.

* The plan to seduce Valarie was ripe for humor, so I thought it would make sense for that to work.

* Yulian had to make a Luck check to avoid getting VD from messing around with Valarie, the town bicycle. He failed.

* The players had forgotten all about Cody Powers and were confused by the "white guy" who was in Bronzeville. I had to remind them why they had Kerrigan going after Brown.

* I always planned for the Kerrigan / Brown altercation to go down this session. And when I heard about a new player coming, I briefly considered him playing either Kerrigan or Powers, and be out looking for revenge - but decided it would be too hard to explain how he caught up to Mulroney.

* Mulroney trying to get Chaos to be an unwilling suicide bomber was full of black humor, particularly because the player really went with it.

* I tried warning the players ahead of time that a big barge carrying over a car to the small island would be anything but stealthy.

* The boat captain was named Frank by one of the players as an homage to Frank Lepedis, the pilot on Lost.

* Cpl. Wierzbowski wasn't named during the session but I needed a name for the write-up. He's named after the guy who gets about 2 seconds of screen time and absolutely no dialogue in Aliens.

* There were endless amounts of jokes about Chaos "playing with his dinghy".

* Given that the campaign takes place in (basically) Chicago in November, I'm pretty sure Chaos would have frozen to death in the lake rather than be able to swim to shore. But I claim dramatic license.

* The child monster has a background story, which was foreshadowed slightly in the previous sessions. None of the players caught it though. They assumed it was a kid from Chinatown. More on that next session.

* Is Chaos already dead? Well, let's just say that I'm quite fond of the "villain gives expositional speech to a captured protagonist" trope and leave it at that.

* The guy Yulian killed was the elder Mr. Pritchett, David Thomas Morgan's gardener. He's not identified in the write-up because neither Yulian nor Mulroney know who he is.

* Did the bomb kill everyone in the house? Perhaps. Were all the villains actually in the house? Seems unlikely.

Session 22 - Cast of Characters

Father Clink Mulroney - Former Irish Roman Catholic priest turned gangster, now transforming into a monster with megalomaniac plans to take over the world after getting the Marduk Institute's secrets

Yulian Petranov - Bulgarian anarchist who murdered the governor and wants to take down the Marduk Institute, whom he sees as part of the elite controlling the government

Alan "Chaos" White - Irish orphan and pyromaniac, recently broken out of the Dunning Asylum to help blow up the Marduk Institute

Session 22 - Scene 1 (of

Chaos opens his eyes to find himself in a basement. He is chained to a stone wall. Four people stand nearby – an older man, a younger man, a middle-aged man, and a middle-aged woman. Off in the shadows, he sees the outline of the child-sized monster.

The middle-aged man approaches. He tells the others that Chaos is awake. With his mid-Atlantic accent, he asks the boy what he was doing in the forest when "Niven" found him. Chaos tries to play dumb, asking what the man is talking about and where he is.

The man isn't buying it. He tells Chaos he thinks he already knows where he is. The man asks the youth if he is one of the priest's boys. He then asks, rhetorically, "won't someone rid me of this meddlesome priest?"

Chaos holds his tongue, saying he doesn't know any priest. The man turns to the older man, calling him "Pritchett". He tells the older man to see what he can get out of him.

He and the middle-aged woman start heading towards the doorway of the basement room. The man tells Mr. Pritchett that they will be heading out to meet up with the others, and that he will have Niven patrol the grounds to look for any other intruders.

The two and the creature head out a cellar door into the moonlight. Pritchett grabs a horse whip off of the wall and smiles, telling Chaos that this will be fun.

Just then, the sound of a car pulling up outside can be heard. Pritchett tells the younger man he will investigate. He sets down the whip, pulls out a gun, and heads upstairs.

Moments later, gunshots can be heard. The younger man yells, "Father!" and rushes up the stairs. As he gets to the top, a loud explosion rocks the building.