Origins Session Report #4 - The Price All Men Must Pay Hot

I generally like to expose myself to new & unusual games at conventions; things that I can't play at home for whatever reason. This usually means I end up with a widely eclectic variety of games. Sometimes, you want something you KNOW is good. This is one of those times. Enter: PST Productions

Friday 8p-11p, $18, PST Productions, LARP Event 2097, Cthulhu Live

The year is 1889. Tonight, join us at the gala unveiling of Professor Earl Waxflatter's latest and greatest foray into the world of Mysterium powered super science. Gather with some of the best and brightest minds along with some of the most daring adventurers the world has ever seen. Your host for the festivities will be the chairman of the prestigious Adventurer's Society and famed Airship pilot, Captain Nicodemus Parlance. Refreshments and cocktails will be served at this once in a lifetime event. Join PST Productions for their long awaited Cthulhu Live Steampunk event. After many requests we are bringing you an evening of Mythos and Steam with a world that is only limited by your imagination. Costumes are STRONGLY encouraged. Please contact PST Productions for advanced character assignments so you can costume and ask any questions.

I was coming off of a short indi RPG, Fiasco, in which I had recently had an epiphany about indi games. For what that was you'll have to wait till the next installment, but suffice it to say that I was not in happy fun mode. Not pissed, just not excited about my last game. I KNEW that was going to change though because I knew which game was coming next. And I KNEW that one would be BAD ASS. After Fiasco I went to pick up The Cute Girl. She had dressed for a Steampunk LARP and it had been cancelled because only four people showed up. She dropped by Fiasco, but that was full so she sat in on another game in the same room. It ran longer than my game; real RPG games ALWAYS run longer than indi games. During the game our friends from You Too Can Cthulhu showed up in the room next door and had seen me but completely missed The Cute Girl because of both her costume and her back being to the door. Eventually they hooked up though and we made dinner plans with the You Too Can folks. The Cute Girls games ended and went went next door where You Too's Cthulhu game and Hollow Earth game were ending. The HEX game was Blue Fiend of Prague, which I believe was created over a dare/challenge. The Cthulhu game was some Delta Green game based around the Department of Sanitation in some large midwestern town. The guy who runs it is a coworker of The Cute Girl. They finished packing up and stored their gaming supplies in the room as the Shoggoth folks showed up. Turns out You Too was being sponsored by Shoggoth that year and were squatting in their room. Anyway, they grabbed their luggage and all 10 of us headed out. When they show up they really bring it. We agreed on where to meet and Bob, the coworker, vetoed my Sushi choice. Arg! I was really looking forward to it. We ended up deciding to meet them at the Japanese steakhouse across the street. So three of them jogged over to the Crown to check in while the rest of us hit the steakhouse.

On the way over The Cute Girl got accosted by a couple of vampire girls handing out fliers. "Great costume The Cute Girl! You should totally come to The Masquerade!" as they shoved some lit in to her hands. Now, The Cute Girl LOVES playing dress up, and was SUPER in to Vampires when she was 12, but no longer. On the way across the street she said "Watch me do it to someone else!" ? She accosts four young guys, teenagers walking up the street and says "You should TOTALLY come to The Masquerade!" and shoves the handout in to one of their hands. That's The Cute Girl. She can be as Random and as brazen as the best of them, especially when she thinks something is A Good Idea. In we go to the steakhouse. OMG I LOVE hibachi. Especially hibachi seafood. It turns out on of the You Too guys, Jake who was running the HEX game, has never had hibachi before. We assured him he was in for a treat. We ordered drinks and I got some bizarre fruit juice and liquor combination called a Samurai. The Cute Girl got something called The Geisha or something like that. Then we had another. The other three guys still had not showed so we ordered, but were soon admonished by the server, the manager, and someone I can only assume was the host. "Once we start it's all programmed. Your friends won't be able to sit with you and eat." Chill baby baby. Chill baby baby. Chill. We put the order on hold and start pestering the guys with txt's and phone calls. They soon show and we can get going. The chef was ok but no great, although our hibachi virgin was wide-eyed and aghast as the chef was making flames shoot up and during The Volcano. My hibachi lobster was not the best. The Cute Girls hibachi scallops were cooked well but had some weird sauce on them. We shot the shit with the You Too crowd about their games during dinner and it turns out the HEX game went well but the Cthulhu game stalled out. A guy form Prague showed up during the HEX game set in Prague (complete with the Hitler youth riding flamingos, which I understand was part of the bet) but was very cool about the inaccuracies. The Cthulhu game was a test for the same thing at GenCon and one of the players wigged out early and threw a wrench in the works. You Too is tweaking that scenario for GenCon. I ended up having a third drink and ate WAY too much; recall I just wanted something light like Sushi. Unfortunately Captain 'No Self Control' showed up, finishing his sucky chicken broth soup, sucky dressing salad, all of his hibachi shrimp and lobster, a decent amount of the friend rice, three Samurai mixed drinks, and the pineapple ice cream desert. The Cute Girl did better than I, but is a lightweight when it comes to drinking. er head was swimming as we broke up with the You Too group and headed back to room to dress for the LARP.

Yes, I costume for certain LARPs. Hey, this is your old buddy Bryce here. Mr. Nuke. Brainy Smurf. Stay with me kids, I won't lead you astray. I know I'm gonna get shit for it, but it really does make the game better.  Besides, I like mens formal wear and use every opportunity I can to bring out The Tux. I believe I've already mentioned how every girls crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man. So, the black dress shoes and tuxedo pants went on. The pants have the strip down the side and since this is Steampunk every bit of ornamentation helps. I had a white dress shirt that I cut the cuff buttons off of as well as the top four shirt buttons so I could use my cufflink and stud set. My tailor did the same thing when I originally bought my tuxedo. Suspenders/bracers are the norm with formal wear, covered by a black vest that is actually more suited for white tie. Modern vest styles button almost to the top of your shirt but I wanted something more classical and 20's when I had mine tailored, which means cut much lower to show more of the shirt. IE: A white tie vest. I love that vest, it may be my favorite part of the tuxedo. Next up was the tie. I wanted an old timey look so I had purchased some grossgrain ribbon at Michaels back at home cut a huge chunk off in order to tie a thin and oversized loop bow-tie, like something out of a western. I topped this with a maroon velvet dinner jacket. I picked this bad boy up at the Goodwill back home. It was at least 2 sizes too small, and there would be no buttoning of the jacket. I couldn't even brush my left shoulder with my right hand. But still, it was COOL. Style trumps substance when it comes to Steampunk baby. A white Irish linen kerchief went in to my jacket pocket while some blue award/ribbon thing went on to my right lapel. My dad had a large Carpenters union tietack that came to me when he passed away and it has something on it that looks a little freemasonry, so it went in my left lapel buttonhole while my dads big ass diamond ring went on my left hand. I got my top hat from the same Goodwill I got the maroon dinner jacket. It was some paper mache monstrosity with a hole in the top that was serving as the base for a lamp. I tore out the lamp and used the hat; it looked very sturdy and was covered in dust. I attached some copper beading wire to the top and clipped on a magnifying glass from soldering 'Helping Hands' setup. Finally I picked up a cane I bought for a LARP a few years ago which I had wrapped in copper wire for this game. Finally, I attached a pocketwatch chain and fob I had constructed. Parts came from Michaels (the watch), a party supply store (gold pimp chain) and a costume jewelry store (a multi-chain bracelet.) I was set to go. The pants were a bear to get in to thanks to dinner ... and the 20 pounds I've put on since being fitted a few years ago, but I did it. The Cute Girl was already dressed because of the Steampunk LARP earlier in the day that had been canceled. She had ordered some clothes from either LA or Seattle and had them delivered to the hotel and then spent, in her words "almost a metric f-ton of money" in the dealer hall earlier to grab some accessories, including her hat. Out the door and down the hall we went, hand in hand to what we both knew would be a great game.

I had been introduced to the PST Productions Cthulhu LARPs a few years earlier when The Cute Girl and I were not together. I immediately fell in love with the game. I was at Origins by myself that year and was playing in a lot of Call of Cthulhu games. I hadn't registered for anything that year, trusting my luck, a happy go lucky attitude, and a pocket full of generics to see me through. I had played in a couple of R&J Rogue Cthulhu games, enjoying them all. I believe they enjoyed my company because they suggested I play in this PST Productions LARP that was going to happen in a few hours. A LARP? Really? It had been 20 years since I had played in a LARP. Right after college I had helped start the first Vampire in Indianapolis. Alexi Shustoff, the Prince of Indianapolis, was found dead at the beginning of the game, throat bit and blood all over his white suit. I played once more, as a Nosferatu with an 'Electronic Ear' I believe, before I bored of the glacial pace and the other players. In the 20 years since I had developed the typical gamer prejudices against LARPers, which essentially meant loathing and mocking World of Darkness players. R & J however had their act together and certainly were not goth wanna-be 17 year olds. They were older mature players & refs who ran mature Call of Cthulhu games. I considered it awhile then bought a ticket ($18!!!! You gotta be kidding me!) The event description said costumes were encouraged and that it was set in the 30's before the war on a German Zeppelin. The name of the game was Flight of the Valkyrie. When I hear 'Germany in the 20's I think of one of two things. Engineers in black turtle necks with glasses (which is probably more 50's-70's) or gay cabaret boys. Yeah, I know. I don't know, I can't explain it. Hmmm, maybe I can. There was some movie in the 90's or early 00's that featured young Swing dancers in 30's Germany being discriminated against by the Nazi's. I was probably thinking about that mixed with Victor Victoria. I actually made an attempt to track down a friend at the con to get her to do my makeup (The Cute Girl, but we were not together then) but a blow was struck for good taste when I couldn't get ahold of her. I pulled out a black long sleeved mock turtleneck and combined it with a photo ID name tag I had in my laptop bag. I tore apart some cardstock form the Hotel guide in room to make a pocket protector and sliderule replicas and headed down to the game. There were a lot of people in costume, over half, and the rest in street clothes. There was one guy n a black suite with slicked back hair and a small Nazi party pen on his lapel. Two guys were dressed as SS, complete with replica SMG's, once with an eye patch! Lots of US soldiers and officers and others in period 30's guard. R&J were there. R was a US army private, I believe, and was dressed the part, while J was a reporter in some houndstooth skirt suit and hat. Evidentially you could mail the moderators ahead of time and get a character assigned to you, and then bring a costume for your character. Sounded lame but I could not argue with the results; it was cool to be around them. The mods handed out the pre-assigned characters and then immediately turned to me and said 'get up here. We have the perfect character for you.' Looks like I had done a decent last minute job. I forget my name, but I was the guy had built the Valkyrie. I wanted to smooth over any problems with the ship and maybe sell a couple as well, it didn't matter to who: Germans or Americans. I had an absolute blast attempting to smooth over all of the killings, mechanical failings, and Cthulhu nonsense that went on. I was hooked at that moment and am eternally grateful to R & J for turning me on to the PST Productions LARP. After The Cute Girl and I got together I got her in to the game as well. We try to make sure our characters are either some sort of team or that we're in wildly divergent plot lines.

PST Productions also runs TerrorWorks, the live-action airsoft gun LARP. They have a huge space and use their TerrorWorks set, with a few changes, for their Cthulhu LARPs. It's a large space, subdivided in to smaller rooms and larger rooms, with bizarre looking contraptions scattered throughout, including a few they construct just for the Cthulhu LARPs. We were the first in, soon followed by a group of 3 people in street clothes. They looked like a mom and her two older kids. R & J soon showed up, R in a tuxedo with a lab coat and J in some full body lacy/ruffly Victorian blouse/dress with freaky hair. I was dressed as Alexander Draconis, a very wealthy man and the worlds leading manufacturer of Mysterium powered devices. The Cute Girl was a southern civil war widow. Here's the character backgrounds that were e-mailed to us a couple of weeks before the game. We had no idea at the time what the other was playing.

Characters are handed out and it turns out everyone had pre-registered and everyone, with one exception, had costumed. Wait, what? Wasn't there a mom and two kids? Well yes, but they got intimidated because EVERYONE else was in costume, and a pretty good one at that. They told the moderators that they felt out of place and he worked something out with them for a refund. I felt really bad about that. After all, actually showing up is what got me involved in the first place. and I know they would have had a great time had they stayed. This disappointment was soon tempered by the fact that I had managed to sit down, no mean feat considering the too-small dinner jacket and what the hibachi dinner had done to my trouser fit. The moderators then went over the rules, which was mostly unnecessary since we had all played multiple times. The event guide says this is the Cthulhu Live system. I have no idea if that's accurate since I've never seen the Cthulhu Live rules. Basically, you are handed two sheets of paper when you turn in your ticket. One is your characters bio, the exact same one you receive when you pre-reg and ask for a character. These are the documents above that I used to pad this article. Second, you get your character sheet. This is a small strip of paper that you fold in to thirds and usually stick in your badge holder. although sticking them in your hat band was popular this year. The middle section, which is the part usually visible, has your name on it, such as Alexander Draconis. This allows other people to read your tag/badge holder and know who you are, particularly useful in a game with lot of bizarro names. The second section, hidden to the rear because of the folding, contains your 'Shades of Terror' chart. This is a ROY G BIV chart of colored bands, one of which will be 'XXXX'd in. This represents your characters sanity. A normal Joe might have a starting sanity of Violet. Those of us who have been mucking about in Things Man Was Not Meant To Know are probably starting at Yellow, at best. When some kind of freaky Cthulhu shit comes down the moderators will call out something like "Orange Sanity Check." You check your chart and depending on how bad you miss it you get to freak out in some way you think appropriate. The final third of your sheet, also obscured by the folding, is your characters stats. You'll have a full set of stats and skills and maybe a special power if you're playing some kind of freaky Cthulhu cultist. Almost all of these never come in to play, except maybe for three. DEX is used in combat, which I'll describe in a bit. A typical DEX stat would be 11. Luck allows you modify your own or another characters actions. This is usually expended all at once in a last ditch attempt to save your ass the end of the game. A typical Luck stat would be 3. Finally, if you have any special powers or perks you are absolutely going to use it during the game. What's the fun of having the 'Call the Stars' power if you don't use it? :)

To start combat the person initiating yells 'COMBAT.' This cues everyone in the same area to stop and summons a moderator to adjudicate. The same area usually means 'the room everyone is in' although it may also include a hallway or adjacent room if the combat takes place in a doorway or near a doorway. The moderator will count up form 1. When your DEX is reached you declare your action. Thus a slower character will have to declare his action before a faster one. They mod will then count down from 20. When he reaches your DEX your declared action takes place. This faster players get the drop on slower ones in two ways: they know what you are going to do and they act before you do. There are a couple of more rules to combat, the most important one is 'sneak attack.' You can come up behind someone and tell them 'Sneak attack.' This will knock them out cold. Or rather, it usually will, assuming you catch them unawares. And you ALWAYS catch them unawares. You tend to get so in to this game that you forget not to let people behind you and soon forget they are there. The reaction form the victim is the same EVERY time; it doesn't matter if it's me getting the sneak attack or performing the sneak attack on someone else. The victim ALWAYS shrinks, half nods their head in a knowing 'you got me!' way, while at the same time realizing their goose is probably cooked. Why sneak attack? Why not just kill them outright? First, it's sneakier. You're not yelling 'COMBAT!' and alerting everyone that you are blowing Hitlers head off. After all, those SS guys might not appreciate that. Secondly, you get to GLOAT. OMG the power to gloat is not to be under estimated. The victim knows that you  got them, you get to reveal your nefarious or valiant plan or perhaps sacrifice a living victim to the Elder Gods. Besides, it's generally considered bad form to kill someone early in the game; after all the guy playing Goebels paid $18 to have fun just like you did. Everything is pretty loose and friendly. It's a lot more like playing pretend when you were a kid, except you're mature now and know you don't have to 'win' to have fun. Getting arrested by the fake cops can be MORE fun then being the guy doing the arresting.

Normally we would launch in to the game at this time, after the mods hand out prop guns to the characters who are carrying them. This time though since we were all members of high society in the same city we introduced ourselves to each other, since we would all know each other. We were plagued by attendance problems again, a perpetual problem during this Origins. I believe GAMA just released the attendance figures on Facebook earlier this morning, of the day I am writing this, but there is no way I believe those figures. Anyway ... besides myself as Alexander Draconis and The Cute Girl as the southern civil war widow, we had Professor Waxflatter, who had developed the mysterium powered time travel machine we were there to experience that night. That was R in his labcoat. J was playing a chemist. There was a southern general (no costume guy), the 3M guy (Mysterium Mining and Manufacturing, the worlds only producer of Mysterium.) We had a Romanian count & countess, an English Lord & Lady adventurer couple, with their servant The Wild Man of Borneo. Tesla was there, as Waxflatters assistant, as well as  female Russian mystic and a female German scientist. I'm sure there were one or two more, let's see if I can remember them while I write?

Waxflatter & Tesla went in to set up their machineand the rest of us were told we could go in to the lab any time we wished. I waited a bit and then strode in. "Waxflatter. When is the machine ready." in my best soft, cold and full of malice and lack of understanding voice. "Soon Sir! Soon!" in his excited Waxflatter voice. All during the evening I channeled my "Im unhappy with your performance' work voice and facial features. It works well, a good quantity of the staff are scared of me. The senior staff know I'm full of shit, but it keeps the plebs in line. I was playing a man dying of cancer who was testy and wanted his results NOW. I stared at people while they talked to me, with a cold, squinty stare of malice, impatience, and arrogance. I let them speak and use monosyllables. They would launch on to some kind of small talk with me, during which I would do the work stare and finally, when they finished and after an uncomfortable pause I would reply "And." in a cold slow voice. I knew they wanted something and I had no time for them. I didn't care what they wanted. I would give it to them to shut them up and make them go away so I could pursue my real goal: life. The chemist approached me. She needed some Mysterium. I eventually wormed out of her the fact that she had two vials of serum that needed Mysterium to be completed. Once complete they would cure/regrow cells. Really? Hmmm, ok, One to test and one for me! I was curt with her and told her to get it form the 3M guy, and I'ld pay for it. The German scientist wanted my crystal that was the key to Waxflatters device. "I get 51%. Now go away." The Cute Girl approached me about my crystal, inquiring if I'd like another? Hmmm, now I could have two time travel devices! Perfect to ensure I was wealthy in the future. But she was being coy and I had no time for coy, or for her. The Lord and Lady wanted to be the worlds first chrononaughts, but then demurred when informed the device was untested. I approached the southern general. It was transparent what he wanted. I told him that if he went through first to test it, a SHORT test, then I would give the machine to him after I went through. He started in on how " He didn't" and "he wouldnt" blah blah blah history. I told him coldly "I. Don't. Care. Do what you will. Shoot who you will. Just go through first and it's yours. He quickly agreed.

In the meantime I was working with 3M and the Chemist. 3M had brought one sample of Mysterium, which was to be used to power a test of the Chemists serum. 3M brought out a tissue sample to test the serum with. I coughed up a chunk of lung in to my kerchief and told the Chemist to test it on that. AFter a bit we agreed on 3M's sample, mostly so I could shut them up and get on with the test. His sample quickly turns into a snake-like thing once the serum is applied! Gah! I exit the room quickly and bar the door with the Chemist and 3M inside. THEY can take care of it. They eventually box it and we decide we need more mysterium for the second dose of serum. I planned to either buy it or just grab it. But the Mysterium was back at 3M's warehouse, 4 hours away. I decide to send him through time, 4 hours earlier, so more can delivered.

Meanwhile, the southern General goes through and returns 10 minutes later. He says everything worked fine, except he went 100 years in to the future instead of 10 minutes. The world was a wonderful place, nice, clean, full of flying machines, etc. Perfect! I lined up the Lords wife, the Lady, to the horror of the Wild Man of Borneo, to go through second to get Mysterium from 3M's warehouse. I was close! I'd go through third third when she got back with the mysterium, and take the serum just as I was going through. Either it would cure me or the doctors in the future would cure me of my illness and/or the serum. I was close! I saw the southern general in another room and went over to assure him our deal was still on, I just needed once more person to use the device before it was his. I turned around to leave when I heard 'Sneak Attack."

OH #$%%^ SON OF A #$%%^! I was so close! I had been so careful! Every time they monkeyed around with the machine I was in a nearby room watching! I was always with at least one other person. I avoided every dangerous situation I saw! Except, of course, for the one time I didn't. The time with the southern general. He drags my sorry ass off to a small room in the 'basement' of the lab. He ties me up (which is just him saying "follow me, I drag you over here" and "I tie you up tight"), I regain my conscious, and he leaves! Great, how do I get out of this? Less than a minute later he shows up with the Chemist in tow, knocked out also. He ties her up and reveals his plan. Oh, it was his intent to use the machine to have the south win the war, but that was until he went through the machine. The world 100 years in the future was actually terrible, with strange creatures enslaving what was left of mankind. An 80 year old newspaper, 20 years in to 'our' future called me, the Chemist, 3M, and Waxflatter the Four Horsemen and blamed us for the end of mankind. As an honorable southern gentleman he did what he thought was right: he was going to kill us to stop the doom of mankind. Out he went to get the third of our merry group. During his talk I had maneuvered my chair over behind the Chemist; I was going to take cover behind her body and use it as a human shield since the general was waving a gun about. I had also managed to get my gag off. (Again, all pretend. We decide what we can and can't do, and when it happens, for the most part.)  He came back with 3M knocked out, but most of the others had been alerted also! The small room was now crowded as he ranted about why he was holding us and was going to kill us. A plan sprung to mind! The Chemist had one more vial! And I knew where she kept in, in her boot! I knocked my chair over and crawled over to her ankle, intending to bite through the glass vial to get at the serum. The serum had not been powered by mysterium yet, so it was a long shot, but it was better than getting killed! I mentioned what I was going to do to the Chemist. She muttered "Try it and I'll kick your teeth in!" Just then Tesla hits the general with a stun gun, since he was aiming at my head at the time I get to do a Scanners impression. No more head for Mr. Draconic. :( Just hen there's another power surge! Game over.

During debrief we learned that while the general and 2/3'rds of the gang were in the small room, the rest of the kids had knocked Waxflatter out and The Cute Girl had replaced the crystal and used the machine! She won! Time to reveal the characters secrets. The Chemist wanted to use her serum to turn herself in to a Goddess. 3M got his Mysterium form the poop of  giant worm that was eating away at the mountains form the inside in Appalachia. The worm was dying and he wanted a new one. The general wanted the south to not loose and was part of a secret society to make it so. The English Lord had some nefarious plan that had to do with serving wine to everyone. I didn't drink it: I didn't get to be the worlds largest manufacturer of mysterium powered devices by being stooopid. The count and countess were soul vampires. The german scientist had been monkeying with the machines controls all night, hence the 100 year trip instead o 10 minutes. Our war widow was a tertiary cultist who was charged with exactly what she did: replace my crystal with another and use the machine. Waxflatter was tragic: he just wanted to go back in time and save his dead wife & kid. Hmmm, I think that covers everyone. We took some photos as a group and then bailed for the night back to the room.

It was another WONDERFUL PST Cthulhu LARP. It was exactly as I thought it would be: a blast and a wonderful experience full of fun. Those of you who have ben following my last few updates know about my LARP tirades. PST writes the best games. Gleefully fun and interesting. They concentrate on writing the characters, and do a terrific job of it. With no NPC's to get in the way the players are free to interact and pursue their own goals and interfere in the other players.  They characters are well written, the game is interesting, and it's almost always a little snarky and full of gleefully petty & evil FUN! Unadulterated Joy. Go play a PST Productions LARP. They are running games at GenCon and take generics.

Alexander Draconis President Dragon Industries Dying Rich Industrialist / Investor Age: 55

Dragon Industries is the world leader in Mysterium powered devices and gadgets. You see without a Dragon Industries Mysterium Reactor, the great scientific advances this world has come to see in the past 10 years would be for naught. However with all the power you command and the wealth you have acquired, it means nothing when it comes to the enviable specter of death that beckons your name.

The best doctors and even some quacks have told you the same thing, you are dying. A form of cancer, this disease is eating you alive from the inside out. You keep the intense pain at bay with doses of Opium but even that has been starting to lose its effect. You have become so desperate to find a way to cure this disease that you have turned to avenues beyond the medical arts and even dared to enter the realm of the fantastic, the world of the occult.

You have talked with many a psychic and mystic and they all have tried their quackery on you. Some did make the pain stop with the strange elixirs and potions, but the disease still remains. That is what has led you to professor Waxflatter. If his theories are correct, then you can use the very ethers of space and time to find a cure for your condition and will never have to leave this mortal coil.

You do not even attempt to understand his ramblings and theories, but you do know that if this Aethergate works, he will be able to open a portal not only to another space but another time. A time perhaps that has seen a cure for your condition and maybe even a cure for death itself. Using your great wealth you have spared no cost to bring Waxflatter's vision to reality.

Initial tests show that his theory is sound. The first device he developed was a device to peer into the stream of time itself. This Aetherscope allowed you to see a vast world where science and technology are far advanced of even this worlds. Now you must physically reach this world and find the answers you hope that are there.

Tonight, before the assembled members of the International Adventurer's Guild, you will unveil the portal. The world's first Chrononaught will travel into the future and once you know it is safe, you will use this device to live forever. Your time on this world is not yet ready to come to and end. No disease will dictate when you die. When it is your time, you will leave this world on your own terms.

Sandra Dee Wilson Southern Belle Socialite Knight of the Golden Circle One of the Thousand of Nyarlathotep Age: 45

Like any fine southern lady, you support your husband's endeavors whenever and where ever they may take you. However every since you were a little girl growing up on your family's plantation, you knew that you had a different destiny in store for you.

Old Mama Maria, the kindly slave that looked after you when you were young told you that you were born special. That some time, some place you will be called upon to perform an action that will change the world forever. She saw it in your aura and read it in your cards. Since that time you have heeded her words and knew that you would be called one day.

It has been many years since Mama Maria told you the tale of the Thin Man and how he would one day rule a world set asunder by Chaos. Since those tales you learned in your youth you have wondered about this strange Thin Man. While your husband was off fighting the good fight, you spend many a long day in the sun with the slaves that worked your plantation. If anyone knew about this thin man, they would.

You could have beat the knowledge out of them, but you knew that you get more flies with honey the vinegar. You made sure your slaves had the best of everything, even at the cost of being seen coddling them to your fellow widows of the war in your social circle. Your treatment paid off one evening when the old man, his name escapes you now, told you a tale that chilled you to your bones.

The tale he wove told you of great gods that once roamed the world and how they were exiled to beyond the heavens or sleep awaiting the right time to awaken. He told you the tale of the Thin Man and how only those that follow his path will be spared when the elder ones return to claim the world that is theirs. He explained that the Thin Man had chosen only a select group to be his hand here on Earth. When the time comes and he signals your to act, you must do so without hesitation. For only those loyal to him will sit at his side.

The years have gone by and thus far you have not heard his call. You have begun to think that all those stories you were told were nothing more then stories. It was almost gone from your memory until you received a strange letter in the mail. It was written in a strange language that upon studying it, the words became unusually clear to you as if written in English. It told you that a man would contact you with your task this very evening at the Adventurer's Guild presentation. There he would tell you of your task.

Like the little girl who was originally told the tale you are giddy with excitement and the memory of your research has come flooding it. You can't wait to see what task is going to be given to you. You have prepared for this moment your entire lifetime and will not disappoint.