02/07/2010 DOUG: The Bones of Chinatown

The second DOUG went off extremely well I think, despite the amount of stuff going on that day. Well, more specifically the Superbowl and the amount of food preparation I had to do in addition to GMing. But I chose the food items for their relative simple setup so it all worked out.

Game: The Bones of Chinatown, Savage Worlds
Style: RPG
Genre: 1930's Pulp
GM: Dave Olson
Players (Factions/PCs): Alice (Malachi the Mysterious, magician), Aaron (Brent Hardcastle, ace pilot), Trenton (Jimmy Patterson, curious kid), Harris (Doc Davenport, mad scientist)

A pulp adventure in the vein of the thrilling 1930s escapades of yesteryear! The heroes were summoned by an "old friend" to the observation deck of the Empire State Building, only to arrive to find a body slumped on the floor. Worse, the glass walls shattered as a gang of hatchet-wielding Chinese tong assassins swung in from a hidden zeppelin outside! Like a well-oiled machine the heroes made short work of these nefarious goons, but more came in and combat ensued.

Jimmy's scattered marbles and a well placed smoke bomb caused confusion for the tong assassins, but Doc Davenport had his hands full as he dodged and weaved the ferocious hatchet attacks of one of them. Brent used his twin pistols to great effect along with his extraordinary athletic ability, kicking and jumping, while Malachi the Magnificent worked his arcane arts to send a few of the assassins flying. As the battle quickly turned against the invaders their zeppelin outside, bearing the symbol of Chinese criminal mastermind and sorcerer supreme Zho Fang, turned and began to flee.

But Doc Davenport wasn't having any of that! Switching on his Rocket Propelled Personal Conveyance Device (patent pending!) to full power the mad scientist rocketed after the fleeing zeppelin. He powered up his Light Emanation Ray, cranked the knob to maximum, and let loose a powerful bolt. The attack punctured the zeppelin's balloon and ignited the hydrogen gas inside! The flaming zeppelin descended quickly into the streets of New York City but was quickly corralled by the NYSP (New York Sky Police) into the Hudson River.

With the tong assassins defeated the heroes tended to the unconscious man on the floor whom they recognized as eminent Japanese businessman and entrepreneur, Dr. Itohiro Nakami. Dr. Nakami explained that Zho Fang was seeking the Eyes of the Lo-Man Tiger, twin rubies of mystical origin that supposedly gave its possessor control over time and space. He was making a bid for the first one which lay in the vault of the San Francisco Chinatown kingpin known as the Jade Dragon.

Dr. Nakami needed the heroes to break into the Jade Dragon's vault and retrieve the Ruby Eye before Zho Fang could. They agreed and set off immediately from New York City across the dust-ravaged Midwest to the City by the Bay, San Francisco! Quickly they arranged a trolley ride to Chinatown and took to foot after that. They were seeking the Dragon of the Black Pool, a restaurant owned by Dr. Nakami's friend Egg Chen who would be able to assist the heroes in breaking into the Jade Dragon's heavily guarded tong warehouse. Unfortunately no one knew their way around the twisting and crowded streets of Chinatown, so they hired a child guide by the name of Ping Pong.

Ping Pong led them through the roads around fireworks dealers and all sorts of strange animals before finally arriving at the Dragon of the Black Pool. The heroes entered, only to be confronted by an old man running out of the kitchen shouting "Get down!" They obliged, and luckily too as an explosion rocked the restaurant and filled the room with smoke! After only a moment Egg Chen greeted them politely, inviting them to tea.

He listened carefully and was expecting them so he filled them in on the details of what they needed to do. The Jade Dragon kept the Ruby Eye in the lowest level of his Vault of Ghosts, and the safest way into said vault was through the underworld of Chinatown. Egg Chen sketched out a map, and once the sun went down he led them to an abandoned sewer grate that would take them into the very bones of the neighborhood. He gave Malachi a wooden amulet, but before he could explain anything a group of tong goons arrived! The heroes descended into the darkness while Egg Chen held them off.

In the dank depths below Chinatown, the heroes were in a world that seemed halfway between the living realm and the spirit realm. Jimmy took the lead with his Boy Scout training, but even with that they managed to get lost several times in the dark tunnels. Throughout the trek they heard whispering voices and harsh laughter, and after an hour of tromping around the voices revealed themselves as belonging to hopping vampires! These undead spawn jumped out of the brackish water of the river and confronted the heroes with diseased claw and slavering jaw.

Brent held off two of the creatures valiantly but found his bullets less than effective against the hopping vampires. The vampires seemed paralyzed by Malachi, and he decided to try the wooden amulet Egg Chen gave him. That seemed to do the trick, and once the magician pressed it against the undead flesh the vampire let loose a howl and was vaporized within moments. Meanwhile, Doc Davenport was having a hard time and was slashed during several debilitating attacks, nearly sending him into unconsciousness. Jimmy used the flash on his camera to disorient the remaining creatures while Malachi used the wooden amulet to finish them off.

With the hopping vampires defeated the heroes turned their attention towards bandaging up Doc Davenport. Unfortunately, the Doc was the only one with skill in healing so he was forced to attempt to bandage his own wounds. It did not go well, and after an hour he gave up with little success. Brent was also a little wounded, so the Doc then turned his attention to the ace pilot - and managed a miraculous bit of first aid!

They continued on afterwards, and eventually they came upon the entrance to the Vault of Ghosts. It was a circular chamber with a pool of brackish water in the center. On the far end was a round portal with raised markings. Malachi, having spent some time in the Orient, was able to translate the markings which were ancient Chinese. It was a reference to the belief in Shang Di and how the most wicked would be punished by having them spines flayed for eternity while they turned in a circle. As they looked closer they realized that a human spine encircled the portal, and Brent noticed that it could be moved.

With a mighty heave, Brent and Malachi went to work at turning the spine which gave groans of protest with each move. The sound seemed to alert something in the pool, which roiled and bubbled before erupting into a dozen thick tentacles! Doc Davenport and Jimmy went to work distracting the tentacles while Brent and Malachi kept at the turning. In the fray the Doc discharged all of his energy in his Light Emanation Ray and Jimmy used purchased firecrackers to great effect.

The portal finally opened and the heroes rushed inside, and the tentacles tried following - but only managed to pull down the stones and rock over the portal, collapsing the entrance. Whatever happened next the heroes knew that their only option was to move forward.

They found themselves in an octagonal chamber with fanciful murals along the wall. The murals depicted a robed, masked man in various events - one where he commanded an army of Chinese soldiers, another where he conferred with an emperor, and a third where several demons bowed to him. The room was ringed with 8 foot tall demon statues bearing hideous grins and wicked weapons. A faint emanation illuminated the area, originating from a pedestal in the center upon which, on a velvet cushion, sat a large ruby.

The heroes had found the Vault of Ghosts and the Ruby Eye. Positioning themselves strategically around the area, it was Brent who reached out and grabbed the relic. Nothing happened, and they breathed a sigh of relief. But then one of the demon statues roared to life! They quickly realized that the iron demon statue would be a nigh-impossible foe and they opted to run.

And run they did! The demon statue gave chase with its plodding foots, and chased the heroes out of the vault, up spiral stairs, to a locked door. Luckily Brent's shoulder proved more than the door could handle and the chase continued into what was apparently a warehouse, with many Chinese workers. Wounded as he was, Doc Davenport was having a hard time keeping up, but he decided to use his Rocket Propelled Personal Conveyance Device to get away. He managed to get up the spiral stairs using a clamp to lock onto the rail, but in the warehouse the demon statue pummeled him into unconsciousness. Jimmy let off some more fireworks, creating a panicked mob of workers and explosions!

Tossing the Ruby Eye to Malachi, Brent and Jimmy turned around to help their friend while the magician plowed on ahead. The plodding steps of the demon statue were gaining quickly when they reached the limp body of Doc Davenport. Brent, experienced ace pilot, decided to try and use the jet pack strapped to the Doc's back, and with Jimmy hanging on tight the ace pilot punched the device into gear.

Off they went, with Brent and Jimmy riding Doc Davenport's unconscious body like a sled! The rocket pack barely lifting the three of them off the ground, but it got them out of the demon statue's grasp. Malachi, utilizing powerful arcane arts taught to him by HP Lovecraft, Headmaster of the Academy of Prestidigitation and Conjuration, sent magically endowed playing cards exploding against the demon statue.

The iron statue had taken enough abuse, and collapsed on the ground just as Doc Davenport's jet pack ran out of fuel. The three of them (carrying the unconscious mad scientist) continued to run through the building, quickly reaching offices leading out to the Chinatown street. They emerged in the light of the rising sun - only to be confronted by the robed, masked figure depicted on the murals in the Vault of Ghosts!

The sound of cocking rifles and Tommy guns echoed in the street and the heroes knew they were outmatched. The robed figure - the Jade Dragon in the flesh - asked why they had stolen the Ruby Eye from him. Malachi, quick to act, instantly muttered the words to a powerful puppet spell as a last ditch effort, knowing that the Jade Dragon was probably an accomplished sorcerer himself.

Against all odds, however, Malachi established dominance over the Jade Dragon! Under the magician's control, the powerful Chinatown tong boss ordered his men to stand down, and Brent stepped forward with his boot knife drawn to finish the fight once and for all. As the Jade Dragon pushed back the cowl of his robe and pulled off his mask, however, he collapsed! All that was left of him was the pile of robes where he once stood ...

Egg Chen greeted the heroes in his tour bus and brought them quickly to the Dragon of the Black Pool. He patched up Doc Davenport with ancient Chinese mysticism and relayed a message from Dr. Nakami. The Japanese philanthropist needed the heroes to bring the Ruby Eye to his safehouse in Shanghai as soon as possible ...

What great adventure awaits these brave heroes on the horizon? Stay tuned next time for another thrilling escapade in ... Tales of Pulp Matter!

The Bones of Chinatown and Me

I started to write the DOUG review when I realized that it became a review of the publication history of The Bones of Chinatown. Interesting story, I think, but not relevant to DOUG. So I'm going to post it separately here.

I've been wanting to run this scenario for many years. Really it goes back to January 2002 when Dungeon magazine had Polyhedron run in the back, and in that issue they had a d20 mini-game called Pulp Heroes. That was my first introduction to the world of the 1930's adventure pulps and roleplaying and I was quite hooked. The rules were actually quite elegant without being too complicated and the class system of d20, while not the best, seemed to work.

I sat down and scribbled out an outline for "The Eyes of the Ruby Tiger" for d20. I never did anything with it, but as the months went by I would periodically return to that outline to restructure and reorganize it. After I picked up the GURPS Cliffhangers 2nd edition book I changed the name to The Ruby Eyes and broke it down into three acts, converting the whole thing to GURPS at the same time. Or at least I tried, as I only got through the first act, The Bones of Chinatown.

Then I was introduced to Savage Worlds through the Ravaged Earth Society and I knew I had found the perfect fit. I went back to The Ruby Eyes and updated the first act and finished the second and third parts, converting it all to Savage Worlds. And then I sat on it for a short while. I wanted to see it in print but I didn't know what to do, and then in an issue of Knights of the Dinner Table they were advertising an adventure design contest. Any adventure for any genre or system.

Since the Bones of Chinatown could very easily stand on its own and fit the word count, I submitted it for KoDT. I got response message back saying my email was undeliverable and I was sad, but moved on quickly. After a few weeks I got in contact with the company that picked up the license for the Ravaged Earth Society, Reality Blurs, and I submitted The Ruby Eyes for publication (since they were a SW licensee already). They liked it and I got in touch with Sean Preston, the president on what projects I could work on.

Immediately after hanging up with Sean for the first time in December 2008 I got an email from KoDT saying my submitted adventure had taken 3rd place and would be published in an upcoming issue of KoDT! My joy was split. I was ecstatic that I was going to be in the magazine/comic that I've read for so long, but I was torn by the fact that I had submitted the scenario to two different companies (thinking the first one had failed!). I called up Sean and explained the situation and he was very understanding.

We agreed that there was enough Ravaged Earth stuff coming down the pipe that The Ruby Eyes would not be terribly missed so I gave the go ahead to KoDT. The Bones of Chinatown was published in Knights of the Dinner Table #148, The Perp Walk. And I finally got to run it in February 2010. W00t!

DOUG This Sunday

I think what I'm going to have ready for DOUG (Day Of Universal Gaming) this Sunday is going to be my pulp adventure published in Knights of the Dinner Table, The Bones of Chinatown. I'll have six pregenerated characters ready to go so we can get started and finished before the Super Bowl, which I believe is around 5ish. I can play with only two people or up to six, so I think if you're available you're definitely welcome. Worst case scenario I'll come up with more pregens.

Quick plug for the scenario: set in 1936, the heroes are quickly thrust into the deepest underbelly of San Francisco's Chinatown fighting their way through tong gangs, mysterious creatures, explosions, and hair-raising chases in a quest to recover one of the fabled Ruby Eyes of the Lo-Man Tiger. Pulp adventure awaits!

The Ravaged Earth!

Action! Adventure! Heroism! Death rays! Rocket packs! The depths of the unknown and the heights of excitement!

These and more await you in the Ravaged Earth. This is a Savage Worlds community setting available for all to see at the following link: http://www.ravagedearthsociety.com/TRES/tiki-index.php.

It takes a look at the world of 1935 had the Martians invaded in 1898 (I think that's the date). Check out the character creation guidelines and if you're interested get thinking about a character. I'd like to get this off the ground pretty soon. I love pulp.