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Category Archives: Savage Worlds Games

GM: Evil Mike: Evil Purveyer of Evilness
Samuel Smythe (Steve): Occult Branch, Polish National, The Healer
Baltasar Magnusson (Owen): Operations Branch, Swedish, The Lindquist/Forger
Cyrus Lowenstein (Ben): Operations Branch, American, The Ladies Man
Nick Harmon (Mike): Occult Branch, American, Combat Psychic

This week was our second session of Agents of Oblivion. We made it to Wroclaw, Poland without any incidents and began looking over the building that will house our import export business and our Oblivion base of operations. The building was a mess. Not only was everything rundown from the building going unused for a long time, but there was graffiti everywhere—some of it quite disturbing. We were able to find a contractor that would work for us to renovate the place and keep his mouth shut about a few special options we’re adding. We also all found places to live in the city.

It turned out that the disturbing graffiti were occult symbols of some kind.  We called in an occult specialist; Norman Korys. He’s a sorcerer, but he’s not in the phonebook. He confirmed that the symbols were bad news that essentially placed a curse on our building. He also mentioned that a supernatural nexus must be nearby, probably on the facility grounds somewhere.

We began having several accidents at the building during the renovations. This caused us to be visited by Officer Dawid Kowalski, who also happens to be the pack leader for a clan of werewolves in the area. He told us to do something about the unusual accidents or he’d have to report the strange goings-on to his superiors—and we wouldn’t want that now would we. We also agreed to break a certain “friend” of Officer Kowalski’s out of prison. Yes, we really did—and this without any authorization from Oblivion. I think our careers are off to a fine start.

But that’s not all. One day walking to the office, I realized I was being tailed. Using all of my tradecraft skills I led him to believe he had lost me, all the while lying in waited for him. I blew my roll to pickpocket his wallet when I “accidently” bumped into him. I did learn he spoke Russian and eventually tailed him to the Polish Art Museum.

We spent a huge chunk of time concentrating on how to free this friend of Kowalski’s. Owen impersonated his lawyer; Ben broke into various places for various reasons; I’m sure Mike did some things too. I had to make a visit to the known leader of the vampires in Wroclaw, Aleksander Nowak, to obtain a dead body. Don’t ask. I ended up walking away owing Aleks a BIG favor. I’m sure that will turn out ok.

We ended the night with Ben putting the final part of our plan into action. He critically failed the roll, and in our house, there is no re-roll of critical failures. We await our fates at the hands of Evil Mike. I’m sure it will turn out ok.

Chaos Steve

This week we started a brand new Savage Worlds campaign using the Agent of Oblivion setting. If you’re not familiar with the setting, check it out here at Reality Blurs. Evil Mike is the GM for this one. He was sick with a cold while running the first game, but we still had a great time…mostly at his expense. Let me tell you about our characters…

Samuel Smythe (Steve): Occult Branch, Polish national, The healer
Baltasar Magnusson (Owen): Operations Branch, Swedish, The Lindquist/Forger
Cyrus Lowenstein (Ben): Operations Branch, American, The Ladies man
Nick Harmon (Mike): Occult Branch, American, Combat Psychic

Sidebar: Many of you may know that Ben has a slight stutter. One of the funniest moments of the night was when we were introducing our characters. Ben (of course) named his own character, but he gave him a last name that’s difficult for him to pronounce. So when it came time to introduce him to the other characters, he had a difficult time spitting out “Lowenstein”. The name alone is kind of funny, so I (quite innocently) asked him to repeat it. He did, again having a heck of time spitting out the name. By the time it was over we were all laughing so hard I had tears. You may think this is kind of mean spirited, but I you should know that we all love Ben. And he’s a very good sport about our teasing.

Now back to the game… We are all new agents fresh from our Oblivion training. The first order of business was to meet our cell leader, a Mr. Myster. Mr. Myster is an interesting guy with a tail and prosthetic leg. Apparently these “injuries” are from the backlash of using an untested arcane device. Something he immediately warned us not to do. We found out our cell is based in Poland, in the city of Wroclaw. We were currently in England so we caught a transport plane to take us to Poland. Agent Smythe has a major fear of flying and spent the trip rocking back and forth and mumbling things like “These things aren’t safe” and “we’re going to crash. I just know it.” The rest of the team was less than sympathetic. While on the plane Mr. Myster explained that our cover in Wroclaw is that of an import export business.

BOOM! That’s the sound we heard as an air-to-air missile blew a hole in the side of our plane. For a few moments I thought Agent Smythe was correct and we were all going to die. We scrambled for a parachute, tried to save some of the gear we were transporting, and jumped…

…right into a forest filled with German speaking Russian troops from some unknown place/organization. Prior to running into the Russians, we had hopped into one of the few items we saved from the plane, a SUV. When the Russian leader ordered us out of the car, our driver, Agent Magnusson, floored it (or floored it as much as you can in a tree filled forest) clipping the Russian leader along the way. Agents Smythe, Lowenstein, & Harmon exited the vehicle. Not a good thing since the Russians opened up on us with machineguns. In the ensuring gun battle the SUV was mostly trashed, and just about everyone was wounded.

We ended the night with us hoofing it to the German-Poland boarder wondering who the heck those Russians were.

More fun to come in two weeks!

Chaos Steve

GM: Mike Byrd

Character Name Player Name Zombie Kills
Head Other
Harry Babcock, lawyer Steve 13
Bill O’Malley, fireman Mike 15 3
Luke “Channel 4 Deering, news anchorman Ben 11
Vladimir Vasilevich, car mechanic Owen 4 1

(No zombies were injured during this session.)

It turns out we landed the airplane on an aircraft carrier. Who knew? Unfortunately the ship was already controlled by a bunch of redneck Californians. They quickly surrounded the plane and escorted us to the depths of the ship. There they expected us to die in a zombie arena for their pleasure. They made one mistake; they left us with our weapons. They weren’t going to send me to some zombie grave. I opened up on full auto with my M16. This took most of the group by surprised. The worse of which was O’Malley who was interested in woman they had also captured and who was standing in the middle of the large, open hallway. Shots flew everywhere and the fuel hit the wall. No, that’s not a new expression. Apparently Ben, playing one of the NPCs, thought that splashing an area with fuel was a great idea. Our battle raged on. The leader ordered the area evacuated and the zombies released. He thought to let the undead finish us off. His men never got the chance to open the doors.

It wasn’t long before we had taken over the entire ship. Bringing all of our resources to bear we sailed off to Hawaii. The credits rolled as we approach Honolulu harbor. Would we find the peace we were searching for? Would Vlad be healed of his zombie infection? Would there be a sequel? All these questions and more will be left unanswered…until next time.

Harry Babcock, King of Hawaii

I forgot to add how the evening started for me. (Steve, not Harry.)

I was unwrapping my super messy pizza sandwich from Penn Station and fail my Agility roll. The sandwich tumbled onto Ben’s off-white carpet. It was quite a mess. Ben assured me that after his liberal spreading of salt on the carpet, the stain will just vanish. Never mind that there are other, older stains, in the same area of the carpet. What, no salt for that old spill?

Steve

Over Christmas we got together with some friends for a day of Savage Worlds gaming. Evil Mike reminded me that I needed to write something up about it. So here we go…

Mike started us out with an Agents of Oblivion game. If you’re not familiar with Agents of Oblivion, then come out from under your rock and check out the Reality Blurs web site. Oblivion is an organization charged with keeping all of the weirdness in the words under control and under wraps. No need for the highly excitable public to know what’s really lucking under their bed.

Cast of characters: Ben, Infiltrator; Steve, Agent; Owen, Combat Wizard; Lee, Computer Specialist; Shaun, psychic.

Our adventure was rather mundane, as we were tracking down a human trafficking organization in hopes of stopping it. This led us to a party given by the Polish ambassador in Poland. Our plan was twofold, attend the party on the upper floor and infiltrate the office areas on the bottom floor to see if and how the Polish ambassador was involved. Owen and Shaun would attend the party while Ben and I, with the support of Lee, would break into the offices. Everything fell apart from the very start thanks to Ben.

Ben, our Infiltration Specialist, shows up at the party. He was supposed to be infiltrating the lower offices with me. Owen stepped up and we broke into the offices together, thanks mostly to the help of Lee. Neither Owen nor I had much in the way of breaking and entering skills. After much mindreading, overcoming security cameras, and Ben causing a spectacle of himself at the party, we had the information we needed.

Our final assault on the trafficker’s base in the desolate mountains regions of Poland went well and the world was once again safe for beautiful women between the ages of 19 and 25. Owen said that this was “…the second best game of the day—a solid second.” Well done Mike! Mike is going to start the regular weekly gaming crew in a game of Agents of Oblivion the next time we get together for Savage Worlds. We’re all looking forward to it.

The final game of the day was my memorable Solomon Kane game. Of course, Mike had to remind me last night just what game I ran last Thursday. It was so memorable. The players (or wanderers) were being drawn to an island off the coast of Africa called, Cao Tome. There on a volcanic peak that thrust out of the island like a giant obelisk to the gods they expected to find and defeat an ancient evil. They were accompanied by an alchemist looking for the elusive Philosopher’s stone. The stone reportedly had the power to turn any base mineral into gold. The natives called the peak “The Great Dog Peak”. It lay deep inside the island’s jungle area. A jungle haunted by who-knew-what.

They met a tribe of natives that actually lived in the jungle area. The chief was adamant that they turn around lest they disturb the Dog People and bring death to them all. The band of wanderers would not be put off by native superstition. Then, as they climbed to the top of The Great Dog Peak, they met the Dog People. Standing eight feet tall and swathed in gold, they turned out to be quite formidable.

Eventually the wanderers reach the summit and met face-to-face with the evil they sought. He was once a man, but was now much more…and everything he touched turned to gold. After a fearsome fight, the wanders defeated the man, releasing him from his curse. They also destroyed the Philosopher’s stone, knowing that no man should have such power. This would have been inconceivable to the alchemist that joined them, but they had killed him earlier.

A fun day for everyone and we hope to do it again soon.

Chaos Steve

GM: Mike Byrd

Character Name Player Name Zombie Kills
 Head Other
Harry Babcock, lawyer Steve 13
Bill O’Malley, fireman Mike 15 3
Luke “Channel 4 Deering, news anchorman Ben  11
Vladimir Vasilevich, car mechanic Owen  4  1

The airport was deserted. At least that’s how it seemed. After our initial fight with a group of zombies, any others seemed to just disappear. The problem was…it was too quite. Heading to the back of the terminal–to the tarmac where our ride to Hawaii (hopefully) waited—we discovered why the terminal was deserted. A group of brave souls had barricaded themselves on the tarmac and were currently holding off hordes of undead. More importantly, with them was a plane.

We discovered that the plane needed fuel and the fuel was in a truck not too far from their position. The only problem was the horde of zombies in between them and the truck. Fortunately we were in apposition to help both them and ourselves.

Channel 4 uncharacteristically volunteered to get the zombie horde’s attention while the rest of us went for the fuel truck. (Honestly, I think the rest of us took one step back.) Channel 4 also kept the non-combatants travelling with us. Personally I didn’t think we’d ever see Channel 4 again.

The trip to the fuel truck was short and sweet. We had information that the truck keys were in the pockets of one of the dead lying around the truck—past attempts to retrieve the fuel I guess. In the meantime, things got bad for Channel 4. Out of the undead mob came a massive zombie bear (Thanks Ben for playing that Adventure Card.)  Channel 4 and the rest decided this was a good time to follow us to the truck–quickly. The zombie bear lumbered after them. Once again Channel 4 showed his mettle and stood his ground against the bear while the others escaped. I think he thought it might count for more than one zombie if he killed it. We’re all keeping track of our zombie kills now. As for me, I took a couple shots at the bear, but the darn thing was too tough. O’Malley helped out Channel 4 with the zombies, who now noticed us. It was Channel 4 though who took down the huge zombie bear with an amazing 40 points of damage to its head. Vlad found the truck keys and we all piled on. It was going to be a rough ride through the zombie horde. We made it to the plane squashing a few zombies on the way. We fueled it up and boarded with the others. Thankfully they had a pilot amongst them.

Cruising at 30,000 feet is not the time to fine out there are infected people on board. And as luck would have it, they were in the cockpit (and the bathroom.). The fight for the cockpit was both bloody and difficult. Never mind that the plane was plunging to the ground the whole time. We killed the zombies and took back control of the plane. We got the plane flying level again but had a new problem. There we no pilots among us and we needed to land somewhere in San Diego.

Mike our GM used the new Savage Worlds Dramatic Task rules for us to successfully land the plane. We failed miserably even using two Adventure Cards. A third adventure card got us safely on the ground.

I’m not sure what San Diego will hold, but we need to find a way to Hawaii!

Harry Babcock

 

GM: Mike Byrd

Harry Babcock, lawyer (Steve)
Bill O’Malley, fireman (Mike)
Luke “Channel 4” Deering, news anchorman (Ben)
Vladimir Vasilevich, car mechanic (Owen)

I was currently holed up in a supermarket with a few of other survivors and O’Malley’s kid. I hate kids. A couple we had met at the supermarket had left their SUV at the gas station. The zombies had run them off while they were trying to fill the SUV’s tank up.  We needed the SUV since my Smart car could only hold 2 comfortably. A plan was hatched to lure the zombies away from the gas station. I would drive the Smart car, with Vlad as a passenger, to the gas station and we would slowly lure the zombies away. In the meantime O’Malley and Channel 4 would sneak through the back of the gas station to the SUV, fill its tank, and drive off to pick up the rest of the survivors.

Channel 4 was restless though and nearly forgot the plan and wanted to head to the gas station early.  O’Malley was ready to stop him with physical force if necessary. He looked almost as if he wanted Channel 4 to bolt. As it was, Vlad and I soon had our own troubles. Things were going fine until we got trapped between two hordes of walking dead. I decided on the bold maneuver of gunning it down another street while firing my shotgun at the zombies—to attract their attention. I had failed to mention to anyone that coming from the big city, I’d never learned how to drive a car. The car smashed into a building after I lost control of it during the turn. Vlad was nearly hurt, but he’s a tough one that Vlad. I did get my shot off though…in a big way. The round blew up in the chamber nearly taking my hand off, but it was enough to get the zombies attention and they were back after us. Vlad and me hopped out of the car and ran down the street to the market to join the others and wait for O’Malley and Channel 4 to return.

In the meantime Channel 4 had got sidetracked in the hardware store across the street. He was looking for a chainsaw. He’d obviously seen too many zombie survival movies. Those things are heavy, loud, and you have to get real close to a zombie to use it. Not what I would call the perfect zombie killing weapon.  O’Malley seemed to have a good time at the gas station judging from the booze and porno magazines he returned with. He also had a satisfied smile on his face, but I didn’t ask him about that. He was able to get the SUV filled up and brought it around for the rest of us. I’ll say one thing for O’Malley; you can count on him to get the job done. We pointed the SUV out of town looking for the nearest airport. Our destination: Hawaii.

There were some glitches at the beginning of the trip out of town. The SUV broke down almost immediately. Fortunately O’Malley came through again. He had brought a bunch of hoses and belts with him from the gas station. Soon we were up and running again. We drove all night and in the morning light saw an airport. We needed a pilot though, so we began looking for survivors. We entered the main terminal and were immediately beset by walking dead. Channel 4 got himself into quite a pickle. I thought he was a goner. But just about the time I was going to put a bullet through his skull; O’Malley turned up again and saved the day. O’Malley uses a fire axe as if he was born to it. O’Malley also gave me an M-16 from his duffle bag since I’d lost my shotgun. I’m beginning to like that gun. A three-round burst to the head takes a zombie down pretty easily. Let’s just hope I don’t run out of bullets.

We secured an area in the main terminal. Now all we had to do was find a pilot.

Harry Babcock

GM: Mike Byrd

Harry Babcock, lawyer (Steve)
Bill O’Malley, fireman (Mike)
Luke “Channel 13” Deering, news anchorman (Ben)
Vladimir Vasilevich, car mechanic (Owen)

A lot happened during this week’s Savage zombie apocalypse game. Let’s see if I can remember it all.

Since we were loaded up with guns, ammo, and fuel we decided to hike down the street to the supermarket and get some food. There were zombies loitering outside the police station. We killed them again. As we approached the supermarket the zombies closed in. A man ran out from the supermarket and began helping us against the undead. A large battle ensued. It’s amazing how satisfying it is to shoot a zombie in the head with a shotgun. Although my shooting skill rolls were less than effective. How many 2’s can a guy roll? Apparently a lot. Vladimir was nearly bitten again. He continues to fight off the zombie infection from the first bite…but for how long? I’ve got my eye on him, just in case.

After dispatching the zombies in the immediate area we all entered the supermarket and met Nathan and his wife. They told us of a kid holed up in the arcade across the street. Bill O’Malley, being the heroic one of us all, ran over to save him. I searched the supermarket and discovered the smart car they were planning to give away as a promotion. I worked on getting that ready for our escape. Never mind that it could only hold three people.

I think that Channel 13 helped O’Malley recue the kid. It turned out to be good that O’Malley is heroic. The kid he saved was his 8-year old son, Frank.

Nathan and his wife also have a vehicle so now we’ll have a little convoy to our next destination. Wherever that is. Oh, and O’Malley finally got the ax he’s been whining about. He used to good effect against the undead horde, so I guess it’s a good thing. Channel 13 got some hair jell so he’s happy. Vlad just looks happy to be alive although the bite on his arm is still a fiery red. I’d better keep back one shotgun shell…just in case.

Harry Babcock

GM: Mike Byrd

Harry Babcock, lawyer (Steve)
Bill O’Malley, fireman (Mike)
Luke “Channel 8? Deering, news anchorman (Ben)
Vladimir Vasilevich, car mechanic (Owen)

During tonight’s zombie apocalypse game, Bill O’Malley finally changes out of his hospital gown and into some real clothes…formerly worn by a now dead zombie. For the rest of the character’s this was a step up for O’Malley. Channel 8 also gives up his beloved chair that he’s been using as a weapon.

Tonight was also the “Assault on Precinct 13” session. Although a more apt name would be “Assault in Precinct 13” as there was plenty of assaulting going on inside the police station as we alternated between running from zombies and running to zombies to kill them. I must say I think Channel 8 did a lot of the former.

We entered the police station. The lobby was clear of undead, but over the small counter area we could see and hear zombies shuffling around in the back rooms. O’Malley led the charge over the counter into the next room. There were only three zombies in the room, but they were hard to put down. The good news was that a couple of them were undead cops that still had holstered side arms. The bad news is that I can’t hit the broad side of a barn with a pistol. One zombie when down piece by piece as Channel 8 repeatedly hit it with his chair. Once the zombies were dead we scrounged for useful items. There were a lot of zombies in the large cell at the very back of the police station, but since they were restrained, we weren’t worried about them.  Later, when we heard the loud clang of the cell door hitting the floor, we wished we would have worried a little more about them. Channel 8 And I thought this would be the perfect time to blow the taco stand. Unfortunately O’Malley wanted what was behind a locked door at the back of the station.

Channel 8 and I headed out the front door only to discover we’d never closed the front door and now zombies were getting in. We could have made it free, but where would we have gone? Channel 8 and I glanced at each other, shook our heads in disgust, and headed back into police station to save O’Malley and Vladimir. But not before we made sure the front doors were closed and locked. It turned out that O’Malley and Vladimir weren’t in such dire straits after all. They had formed a choke point at the entrance to the cell area. Vladimir was valiantly defending himself while zombie after zombie fell to O’Malley’s knife. When Channel 8 and I arrived, there were only three zombies left. Using O’Malley’s gun I managed to kill one of them—a freak occurrence. The rest were mopped up by O’Malley.

The locked door at the back of the police station beckoned. And O’Malley answered. Picking the lock he opened the door and reveled…a room packed full of zombies! Ok, just kidding. It was the station’s weapon’s locker. We loaded up on shotguns, grenades, pistols, ammo, and two-way radios. We also did some more scrounging and emptied out the vending machine of food. We decided to spend the night in our new little fort not knowing what new horrors the morrow would bring.

Tonight’s Zombie Count: O’Mally: 6, Harry: 4, Vlad and Channel 8: 0.

Chaos Steve

GM: Mike Byrd

Harry Babcock, lawyer (Steve)
Bill O’Malley, fireman (Mike)
Luke “Channel 8” Deering, news anchorman (Ben)
Vladimir Vasilevich, car mechanic (Owen)

Like so many pre-zombie apocalypse movies about the zombie apocalypse, we awoke in a hospital with no one around. Each in our own room. Each unknown to the others. And just like those movies, the hospital was infested with the undead. This area that had, at my last memory, been a safe zone was now a deathtrap. For the life of me I can’t remember where I am–some island off the coast of Maine I think. I quickly got dressed in my street clothes and began eating a jell-o cup I found nearby. Then I peeked outside. Several zombies were aimlessly walking around in the hallways. I could see the elevator, but couldn’t reach it without encountering one or more of the undead.

Suddenly a man pushed his way into my room. He was well-dressed and well-groomed. I figured him for a drug salesman. It was worse. He said his name was Luke Deering from channel 8 news. My new partner was an anchorman. Not exactly survivor material if you ask me, but here we were thrown together by fate. Channel 8 grabbed a chair like it was the only thing keeping him alive. Good thing too as the zombies nearly broke their way in. I made a brake for the elevator only to realize that by the time it reached our floor we’d both be brain sucking zombies ourselves. I made for the stairs. Channel 8 followed me.

On the stairs I ran past another man, still in his hospital gown. He was holding a fire extinguisher. He looked competent enough, but I was in a hurry to find a weapon and to get out of there. I ran out into the zombie filled lobby. I’m pretty sure Channel 8 was following me—still holding on to the chair. Once outside of the hospital, I spotted some parked cars. I was lucky enough to salvage a tire iron out of one of the car’s trunk. That’s when I see this guy walking on a window ledge three flights up. As he gets to the corner of the building, he begins to climb down the downspout. I realize this guy has the kind of balls it takes to survive in this new world. Just then his luck ran out. The downspout broke away from the building and he landed hard on the ground. He popped right up, but the undead had already smelled him. They closed in and the guy was surrounded. I wanted to help, but I doubted my tire iron could take out three zombies. Besides, I had a zombie of my own to worry about.

I was sick of running, so I hit the poor bastard in the head with my tire iron. The zombie’s head split like a melon. It was very satisfying. I heard the sound of a helicopter and saw it pass overhead. I thought we might be saved, but all they did was open up on the zombies surrounding the poor guy from the third floor. He made a run for it and we both jumped into a nearby car. He hot-wired the car and we both discovered the car had been drained of gas. Crap.

I heard of the sound of glass breaking. Not long after we see Channel 8 running around the corner of the hospital, still holding his chair. Behind him lumbered a few bullet ridden zombies. Those suckers are hard to put down for long. My new friend in the car said his name was Vlad and I caught of hint of his Russian accent. I also noticed the bite on his shoulder. That could mean trouble later. We both leaped from the car and decided to hightail it to the police station. We were going to need some serious firepower to survive for long here.

About that time I see the guy in the hospital gown come out from behind the far corner of the hospital. He was running too. He was still carrying his fire extinguisher, but had also picked up a knife. I knew that guy would find a way to survive. As we all ran to the police station, I found out his name was Bill O’Malley. Looks like the lot of us are going to try to make out of here together.

One thing is for sure though. I’m going to make it.

Harry Babcock

Excerpt from Nickolas’ Diary… Epilogue….

Life with the tribe is good! Not a care in the world! Well, may be one or two, but the weather is great!!
Tomorrow is my 16th wedding! She is a beauty of course. Also happens to be the 4th daughter of neighboring tribe, which should help smooth over some “disagreements” we have been having over the last few weeks.
Lost count of the number of kids… 28 I think? As well the usual local names, couldn’t resist naming a few after my old comrades: Duncan, Buck, Thomas, Winnie, and yes, Desmond.
Still see Seaman Bob now and then. He says he doesn’t intrude when he shouldn’t, but I am not really convinced… But what of the old crew? Last I heard, Buck did marry Elizabeth and lives back in England on the family estate –
doing very well for himself and is now a Lord. Who’d of thought he would settle down and be a savvy investor? Mind you, he did steal Duncan’s loot and have him committed. I always said he was a mean bugger. A bit of a shame really – I liked Desmond! What can I say about Thomas… the Captain of The Black Prince! He has made quite a reputation (and fortune) for himself – “The Scourge of the Carribean” – especially for the French! That musket of his must have killed over 100 Frenchies by now! His bounty is up to 100,000 – I hope he stays away from Buck.
I still have my share of the treasure buried where no one can find it. It has little value here, but who knows what the future holds?
I see a sail in the distance… I do believe that’s Winnie’s ship! This may be a little awkward now with the wives and all, but I can’t resist her charms!!!
Fini!