The Dresden Diaries: Second Session

Campaign Diaries

By way of introduction, last week I posted a diary of our first session of The Dresden Files RPG. I’m running such a campaign for the first time ever. It’s a very different system than what I or my players are used to, but I think it’s going to be very cool. I thought I would use my blog to record my experiences with the game and running it.

In this second session, we wrap up my first scenario…

Last Week…

Yuriko, our PC were-fox (or kitsune), works at her family’s flower shop in downtown Portland. In her background, she had been chased by a pack of wolves in Forest Park–wolves that she thought might be weres. They were chased off by our other PC, Dillon, a Red Court infected. Yuriko receives a strange message on the back of a flyer from “Sundogz”, a doggy-day care facility across town. The message? “Foxfur–we need to talk”.

Turns out that pack of wolves is a band of teenaged weres that are lead by a self-styled “alpha” who believes that Yuriko, being another were, has trespassed on the pack’s turf. After a meeting with the wolves and their surly leader, Troy, Yuriko and Dillon agree to help them with their “bear problem” in return for calling an end to Yuriko’s harassment. The “bear problem” is another suspected were that Troy encountered in Forest park.

After a bizarre night in which they rescue a cop from being shot by a goat-man and they encounter a naked were-bear in the drainage tunnels, Yuriko and Dillon discover that the bear, Jim Liwanu, is in Portland trying to find his runaway nephew, Philip. He encountered what is believed to be a ward down in the sewers and could track the boy no further. Dillon enlists the aid of his friend, Nick, who is a Kinetomancer, to help. The four agree to meet at Powells before heading to the tunnels to break the ward and try and find Phil.

The Story

As planned, the four meet at Powells and, after introductions, make their way to the original manhole cover in Forest Park. Once instead, Nick summons a ball of light to illuminate their way. Jim leads them to the where he found the ward. After several, exhausting attempts to remove it, Nick declares that the ward is too strong for him–which makes the others worried that whoever they are dealing with is very skilled. Dillon has a plan to try and find another way further into the tunnel and has Yuriko call Cali to gather the wolf pack at the park.

Once everyone arrives (except for Eric, who’s out for a ‘church thing’), Dillon convinces the wolves that it’s in their best interest to assist and that they need to help track this boy to find another way into the drainage tunnel. Jim has a shirt they can use to get a scent and all of the weres–which includes Cali–spread out and start searching the park for another entrance. After ab0ut an hour, manhole is found and one of the wolves has gotten Philip’s scent.

Dillon and Nick descend into the hole and Dillon scouts ahead, as he can see perfectly well in the dark. Finding no bars to their passage, they continue down the tunnel toward the river. Finally, they emerge outside inside a gigantic concrete culvert. Continuing toward the river, they come to a set of concrete stairs that lead to a large platform, on which people are seated in a circle holding candles. All are chanting in some Latin-esque language. Yuriko transforms into a fox and sneaks onto the platform to get a closer look. She reports back that there are about 9 people in the circle, all being led by a handsome man in a black duster holding a scroll in his lap and a dritfwood staff in his hand. The followers all wear makeshift robes and are holding candles. At the center of the circle is a bound teenager being watched by a panting wolf.

Nick says that whatever they are doing, they probably shouldn’t complete the ritual. Dillon proposes that they rush the leader and that Jim, in bear form, rout the cultists. Yuriko volunteers to grab the scroll. All are in agreement.

The plan goes without a hitch. Dillon grabs the leader and subdues him with a dollop of his addictive vampire venom. Yuriko snaps up the scroll before it even hits the ground. The cultists are routed by a transformed Jim.

Soon after the cultists are subdued, all feel a tremor rumble through the area.

Dillon and Nick manage to chase down and subdue the wolf, who is later revealed to be Eric from the wolf pack. He was to be “the sacrificial dagger” of the ritual in which great power would be gained by the “Thaumaturge” (Adrian Brodsky) and himself once “the bear was devoured by the wolf”. Eric explains that “you just don’t know what’s like when Adrian talks to you” and that he was convinced this was right, but it clearly wasn’t. Dillon is convinced he’s just a messed up kid and wants him to give him the names and information on the other cultists, which he agrees to do. Cali says she and some of the other wolves will keep an eye on him. Nick manages to contact the Warden for the Greater Portland area, one Leilani Capstone. The no-nonsense Warden takes custody of Brodsky, and when asked, informs all that he will be tried by the White Council and that, if found guilty of breaching the first law, he will be executed.

When Dillon arrives back at the Archdiocese (where he stays), an engraved invitation to a cocktail party at the Edgefield awaits him…

Final Thoughts

I did better with the conflict scenes this time, but I still did them “wrong”. I need to get my flow and sequencing down. And while the players did a good job of spending Fate Points and invoking scene Aspects, I need to get them more FP to spend by compelling theirs–and in that I failed. So, overall, a B- job. But I’m still liking the system and the players seem to as well.