intro

this is a continuation of the Unknown Armies 3e session report i started a couple of weeks ago.

i covered session prep in that first post. i’ll focus on the game session on this one.

you don’t have to read the first post to understand this one.

game day

I ran Maria in Three Parts, an Unknown Armies 3e module, in local rpg meetup.

two players signed up. Both were experienced gamers. and unfamiliar with unknown armies.

pre-game stuff

getting everybody on the same page

i try to build momentum the moment everyone sits around the table; so i kicked things off with an elevator pitch for unknown armies. short & sweet.

i focused on the fictional elements that are absolutely necessary for a series of event to be recognized as an unknown armies story:

1. stratosphere
2. archetypes
3. adepts
4. avatars
5. the occult underground

this took no more than a couple of minutes; which is great! as we all know exposition dumps kill momentum dead.

with a common understanding of unknown armies established, i briefly discussed the mechanics that will be relevant to this specific module.

character selection

the players picked the cinemancer and the avatar of the warrior. (note: i’ll use cinemancer and avatar to refer to the characters for the rest of the post.)

adepts

I told the cinemancer that adepts are defined by a paradoxical obsession. there is no more to them than obsession. and that their relentless pursuit of charges (magic points in UA) is the manifestation of their nature.

in fact, I told him straight up that adepts are magical charge junkies. they spend every waking second both pursuing that that first high and avoiding withdrawal.

i used the film uncut gems as a example:

“you know adam sandler’s character? That’s an adept shooting up charges right into his veins.“

“wait… was the character was adept?” the player asked.

“Absolutely” i replied.

avatars

the avatar of the warrior and i talked about the relationship between avatar and archetype. I told the player that the archetype doesn’t give a shit who you are and what you believe in. it just cares that you push its agenda through your actions. its relationship with the avatar is entirely transactional.

the players dug the setting, mechanics, their characters, and the tone-feel.

We were finally ready to play.

maria in 3 parts

Characters

• the cabal
  • greg. the cinemancer.
  • jada. the avatar of the warrior
• the npcs
  • wallstreet. a shit-talker. the only honest character in the session. a demon.
  • renee. the occultist wants to kill.
  • maria. the occultist that knows how to banish the wallstreet. and was split into three identical twins.
• the authority figures. a pair of unnatural entities that remove things that shouldn’t be in the world such as demons and occultists who are split into 3 parts.
• bobby. the neighborhood kid.

the starting situation

the players started knowing what i what wrote in the event description. (check out the first post for more deets.)

Maria, a fellow occultist, was spit into three parts by an artifact. Now the three Marias are wrecking havoc at the local hospital. Meanwhile, the demon responsible is after your friend, and fellow occultist, Renee.
You don’t really care a whole lot about Maria, but she knows how to stop the demon that’s after Renee. You care a lot about Renee, so you’ll do everything in your power to stop that demon.

maria’s house

the cabal started the game outside maria’s house. the cinemancer and the avatar started playing up the buddy cop cliche from the get go. the cinemancer played the riggs to the avatar’s murtaugh. (lethal weapon)

they met a neighborhood kid named bobby that i made up on the spot to remind them that maria was in st. matthis hospital with two previously unknown identical twins.

the cabal met wallstreet when they went into the house.

wallstreet appeared in the tv next to the very obvious ritualistic circle.

at first it tried threaten them. when that didn’t work, it offered occult knowledge in exchange of their cooperation.

the cinemancer answered his offer by throwing the tv at a wall.

st. matthis hospital

at this point we only had an hour left of game time, so i sped things up.

to establish the scene i told the players to picture the hospital from the dark knight. then i told them where to find each maria.

the players announced their approach. this is how things went:

• the cinemancer went into method acting mode:
  • he broke the avatar’s arm to play up the cliche of the dedicated doctor and the suffering patient.
  • he cast the stock wardrobe spell that allowed him to pass off as a doctor to other doctors; and thus gain access to the entire hospital.
• they split the party:
  • the avatar got the maria that was holding a hospital worker hostage in the administration offices.
  • the adept got the maria in the neonatal intensive care unit.
    • he had to fight the off 2 authority figures that showed up to remove the 3 marias from reality.

the 2 marias combined into one in a blinding flash of light.

the cabal asked maria how to vanish wallstreet. she obliged:

light pink candles. recite mantras from how to win friends & influence people while pissing on 3 baseball cards. say greed, for lack of a better word, is good when the time is right.

the cabal decided not to help maria combine with her remaining twin. so they left.

they called renee to tell that they to go to maria’s house.

back to maria’s house

the adept took the lead with the banishing ritual. he started the ritual but held off at the very last incantation.

then they waited for the guest of honor.

renee ran into the house, wallstreet-in-the-body-of-some-dude-he-possessed in tow.

wallstreet-in-the-body-of-some-dude-he-possessed stopped dead on its track when it saw the ritualistic accouterments.

he tried to bargain with the cabal one last time:

“slow down, bro. you don’t want to do that until you hear some important information concerning your buddy bobby.”

the adept yelled greed, for lack of a better word, is good at the demon while the avatar and renee shoot at it with their handguns.

the 2 authority figures came in through the front door and took wallstreet-in-the-body-of-some-dude-he-possessed back to whatever place it came from. the demon talked shit until it disappeared with its captors.

Conclusion

with a few minutes to spare, i summarized the “fallout” from the events of the session:

• the cabal gained hella cred in the occult underground for banishing wallstreet.
  • this of course is a really, really sharp double edged sword.
• maria and her twin were institutionalized.

end of part 2

this post is way too long already. i’ll share my gm notes and observations in a third and final post.