WindStruck and Zene's The Haunting OOC

[zingbobco000]

Greetings WindStruck and Zene, and welcome back to the world of Call of Cthulhu, a world of horror, mystery, and wonder. Here you both shall take on the roles of an intrepid Investigators of the Unknown (or Investigator for short), while I shall be the Keeper of Arcane Lore (or the Keeper).

Now that you've understood the freeform investigating aspects of the game, having played the first starter set adventure. Prepare to journey onto your first cooperative scenario -- The Haunting! This is a mystery set in 1921 where you both shall be present. I may very rarely make small notes at the bottom of my posts, but these will most likely be just requests for rolls or clarifications of what exactly you're doing!

Anyway, without further ado, grab a blanket, tuck yourself in, eat some yummy snacks, and join the In-Character!

Spoiler: Repository of Video Links I've Sent So Far

Show

Introduction: Seth CJ
Skills and Characteristics: Seth CJ
Recovery and Improvement: Seth CJ
Sanity: Seth CJ
Combat: Seth CJ

Also your character sheets should be here (Deirdre) and here (Yitzhak)

[WindStruck]

Hello, Zene. Ready when you are!

Possible Improvements:
Acting - for nailing her rehearsal.
Listen - Why did it have to be snakes??
Psychology - Something about Lois's dad...
Charm - not being a jerk at the city hall
Library Use - Deirdre finally defeated her mortal foe
Spot Hidden - around Mr. Knott's receptionist office
Persuade - somewhat convincing the Haunted Tours guy?
Law - Legally Blonde!
Literature - Deirdre knows bibles, apparently.
First Aid - saved Lois's life!

[WindStruck]

Oh that's right. I guess it is a Monday. Hmm....

Well scrap the church stuff I guess.

[zingbobco000]

Oh that's right. I guess it is a Monday. Hmm....

Well scrap the church stuff I guess.

It's all good, we can just move that over to the next Sunday.

[WindStruck]

Since you're offering opportunities for rolls, would I be correct to assume I should mark them on a success? (for instanced, just passed acting)

And now a 1% chance at a medicine roll. YOLO

(1d100)[69]

Hmm, maybe I should push it! I'll just get reeeeaally close to Rupert and try to.. nah, jk. That would just be weird. And crazy, as a character and player. And I don't want Deirdre to die from Tuberculosis.

Think I'll pause here for now and wait for zene to catch up a bit.

[zingbobco000]

Since you're offering opportunities for rolls, would I be correct to assume I should mark them on a success? (for instanced, just passed acting)

And now a 1% chance at a medicine roll. YOLO

[roll0]

Hmm, maybe I should push it! I'll just get reeeeaally close to Rupert and try to.. nah, jk. That would just be weird. And crazy, as a character and player. And I don't want Deirdre to die from Tuberculosis.

Think I'll pause here for now and wait for zene to catch up a bit.

Yup, I've marked it on my copy of your character sheet. That sounds fine, Zene still has to do the improvement phase.

[Zene]

Hi Windstruck! Sorry for the delay, it's been a crazy week so I was a bit slow on the last few steps of Paper Chase wrap-up. All set now, though! Heading over to the IC : )

[WindStruck]

lol let me guess. "Why did it have to be snakes?"

Listen: (1d100)[35]

[zingbobco000]

I have absolutely no idea why it would be that line...

[zingbobco000]

Can you both please answer the following question for me? You may also answer in a spoiler if you think that such an answer should be private (up to you, personally, I'd answer privately, but I enjoy showing instead of telling with my fellow players [again, completely personal preference, utterly up to you]). Where did your character come from? We've established that they were born in Providence, RI, but have they stayed there for their entire childhoods? Consider their initial roots, before they were a teenager. These times are what shaped them the most. Who were their parents? Where else did they live other than Plymouth, NH and Providence, RI if anywhere? What were their families' economic and social statuses? How were they educated? Finally, what were the three most important lessons they learned from their childhood?

[WindStruck]

Spoiler: ooc

Show

For simplicity's sake, I'd say Deidre has only lived in Providence and Plymouth. I don't feel I could get anything out of her spending time living elsewhere, unless I was going for a feeling that her parents were drifters and moved a lot - which isn't the case.

So, Deirdre grew up in Providence and moved to Plymouth when she was about ten. It was a pretty heartwrenching experience for her as so many childhood friends were left behind, and she's had trouble making friends in Plymouth. As in the opening of Alone Against the Flames, I've said people in that town were quite weirdly religious, and they never connected. They've usually given her strange looks, especially as she got older and wasn't really conforming, and her so-called friends never showed up to see her off.

Deirdre's parents were pretty normal. Her mother pretty much stayed at home and managed the household. Keep in mind Deirdre also wasn't an only child. Deirdre's father was an office worker who somewhat changed careers after his mother (Deirdre's grandmother) passed. A job was recommended to him in Plymouth, sorting out old records and other administrative duties at a church.. his pastor recommended it, and after some bereavement time, the family decided to move for a change of pace in life.

As one can imagine, their education was average. As well as Deirdre's education, and that of her siblings. Her family wasn't well off, especially due to the move and change in her father's career, but they were not struggling either. Overall, their family was respected in Plymouth, though Deirdre was like the black sheep...

Three things Deirdre learned:

Be thankful for what you have.

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. (Silas really tested this)

She learned her love for acting. In Providence, she was in a few school plays. It was a very enjoyable experience for her. This got her reading more plays, more literature, and seeking out more acting opportunities, in her teenage years and to the present.

[Zene]

Can you both please answer the following question for me? You may also answer in a spoiler if you think that such an answer should be private (up to you, personally, I'd answer privately, but I enjoy showing instead of telling with my fellow players [again, completely personal preference, utterly up to you]). Where did your character come from? We've established that they were born in Providence, RI, but have they stayed there for their entire childhoods? Consider their initial roots, before they were a teenager. These times are what shaped them the most. Who were their parents? Where else did they live other than Plymouth, NH and Providence, RI if anywhere? What were their families' economic and social statuses? How were they educated? Finally, what were the three most important lessons they learned from their childhood?

Spoiler: Where Izzy Came From

Show

Izzy's parents were immigrants: His mother came over from the Austro-Hungarian empire with her (relatively well-off) family as an adolescent; years later his father, a Rabbi who fled Czarist Russia as an adult to avoid the worsening pogroms. They met and were married in the burgeoning immigrant Jewish community of NYC.

By the time Izzy was conceived, the Jewish community had begun to expand to other major New England cities. His father took a position with a new congregation in Providence. Izzy spent the first few years of his life there, but his parents missed New York. After a few years, they moved back to the community in NYC where they met.

Izzy grew up lower-middle-class, which was pretty good for an immigrant. And as a rabbi's family, they were very respected within the community. Izzy started religious training young; it was always assumed he'd be a rabbi like his father, and his father before him, and his, etc. Izzy studied hard; but he also spend a good deal of time on non-yeshiva things. The yiddish theatre scene and vaudeville; the yiddish newspapers, yes, but the gentile ones too.

It was during his childhood, and his early years, that he learned a great lesson: The world his parents' generation came from was big; and the multitude of Jews from all over that came to NY in a reverse-diaspora was even bigger, still. But his parents' generation seemed to view that as the whole world--or at least the only part of it that mattered. But he knew, when he ventured outside of the neighborhood and through other parts of the city... there was so much more. The world was so much bigger than most people knew.

Related to that, he learned another lesson, from the work of many journalists, but most notably Jacob Riis: The world was built not on rock, but on sand; and it would shift forever. Experiences of individual lives were always changing, but now more than ever; faster than ever. There was great power in seeing that; and great knowledge in trying to understand peoples' lives other than your own, and trends that society was going through.

As he finished rabbinical school, and started to face the idea of searching for a place to be a rabbi... he couldn't see himself as one. When he searched his soul to figure out why, he had his realization (see above answers). He didn't really believe, but that wasn't a big deal -- lots of rabbis had doubts about providence (heh). More importantly, though, he felt disappointed, and out-of-place. He knew he couldn't pretend that he had the answers, to guide others when he still needed answers himself.

But he also knew he couldn't stay in NYC. The Jewish community was too insular, too connected. He couldn't openly rebuff his family profession -- he'd always be whispered about, his parents would be ashamed. He'd never feel comfortable searching for a new line of work.

He did come clean to his parents. They were both upset; his father, furious. But Izzy was firm; he would go to Plymouth, where word was a new rabbi would be needed soon. And his parents could tell their family and friends whatever they wanted about that. But, he told them, he wouldn't be applying for the position. He would find work elsewhere.

[zingbobco000]

Wow... both of you wrote awesome stuff. I only hope that I'm able to make good on such things as a keeper myself . Nevertheless, to clarify something: you will not be losing Sanity for this. The reasoning, from an out-of-game perspective, is that your mind is literally sewing together the "holes" in your memory. I do not wish to dwell on this too much but simply put: just like how your mind fills in your vision sometimes, it is doing the same thing here with your memory.

[Zene]

Wow... both of you wrote awesome stuff. I only hope that I'm able to make good on such things as a keeper myself . Nevertheless, to clarify something: you will not be losing Sanity for this. The reasoning, from an out-of-game perspective, is that your mind is literally sewing together the "holes" in your memory. I do not wish to dwell on this too much but simply put: just like how your mind fills in your vision sometimes, it is doing the same thing here with your memory.

Haha sounds good. I won't have Izzy engage in any False Hydra- or Mr. P.B.H.-hunting.

[WindStruck]

Cool. And here's a physical description of Deirdre. A bit of stuff taken from the previous threads. Just gotta paste it all together.

Deirdre McCoy is a young woman a little below average in height, standing at 5' 4", and quite a gorgeous one at that. Quite slender, with a beautiful face and divine curves, most men would easily peg her at a ten. Her hair is an autumny brown/red color, with a slight curl, and it freely falls down to her waist. Her eyes are a bright sky blue, full of warmth and light. Combined with her straight and fairly narrow nose, naturally thin eyebrows, and overall good looks, she can be a memorable one.

She has a preference for light clothing and is even wearing a summer dress today. However she has combined it with a russet wool shawl. Her shoes are pretty simple slipon shoes, and oddly enough she wears a bright lime green bucket hat, adorned with a black ribbon and a sunflower. Her purse is merely a canvas, handled shopping bag, and her wallet just an old envelope, but she still carries all the charm and confidence of someone decked out in designer clothes. Very bohemian.

Voice: Deirdre is of Scottish descent, and maybe a hint of an accent can be heard in her voice, but it's deeply muddled in with a southern accent. Overall she still might just sound "normal American" for the time.

[WindStruck]

You know what would be really intriguing, scary, and brutal?

A room 1408 CoC mystery.

[Zene]

Izzy looks to be in his early 30's. He's 5'9", of fairly average build and height. Clean-shaven most mornings, but with a noticeable 5 o'clock shadow later in the day. Brownish-black wavy hair that seems to want to grow straight out instead of down, barely held in check by pomade; and dark brown eyes with a hint of warm gold in the sun. He's not unattractive, but not really a face most would focus on in a crowd. However, being of eastern european and russian jewish ancestry, he definitely has a bit of an "ethnic" look that would likely stand out in most WASP-y New England towns at the time. Outside of New York, and maaaybe Boston.

He doesn't have the greatest posture, and by nature isn't very intimidating; but he does usually project a quiet confidence.

He clothing is inexpensive, a year or two behind the current fashion, and slightly more formal than a journalist's should be. He favors a charcoal-grey wool duster and a "newsboy" cap when outdoors--along with a beat-up leather satchel. But for the SEU meeting indoors, with friends, he's shed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. He's wearing dark-colored thin wool suitpants and black shoes as usual.

He talks with a noticeably New York accent ("cawfee"), with a little bit of Yiddish grammatical structures creeping in now and then ("How sunny this day is!" as an example, or the very occasional double-negative).

[zingbobco000]

Basically, who else do you guys want to go with you? To recap there's:
Jessie Williams, a 20-year-old History Student at Miskatonic University
Dr. Nevada Jones, a 35-year-old Professor of Archeology at Miskatonic University
Lois Russo, a 19-year-old Engineering Student at Miskatonic University
Dr. Wentworth Avebury, a 58-year-old Languages Professor at Miskatonic University

Of course, you could decide to take nobody, and just go alone (presuming that Deirdre actually would like to go). Either way, the options are limitlessed!

Also, I deeply apologize for trying to convey accents over text. It's hard enough having a four-way conversation with myself

You know what would be really intriguing, scary, and brutal?

A room 1408 CoC mystery.

Huh... I've never seen it. I guess I should add it to the watch-list.

[WindStruck]

Deirdre's got a whole week off (how convenient) so she's probably going just so she has something to do.

As for who else to pick? Dang, having someone like Nevada Jones with us would be badass. But I think we're a bit too early in history to have any Nazis to punch.

I dunno. Aside from that meta knowledge I know, I think any one of them would be delightful and useful to have with us!

[Zene]

I've never seen it either, though I'm not a fan of horror movies. Heh, maybe I'm playing the wrong game :D

You know what's funny? IRL, I've lived in Boston, Rhode Island (not in Providence, but the whole state is the size of a stamp), and New Hampshire (in Campton, right at the foot of the white mountains). So far these adventures are like a bit of a tour of my NE homes. If we hit Southwest CT in the next one--that'll be the whole run.

[zingbobco000]

Deirdre's got a whole week off (how convenient) so she's probably going just so she has something to do.

As for who else to pick? Dang, having someone like Nevada Jones with us would be badass. But I think we're a bit too early in history to have any Nazis to punch.

I dunno. Aside from that meta knowledge I know, I think any one of them would be delightful and useful to have with us!

I know right, it's almost like someone is setting this scenario up just for you!

I've never seen it either, though I'm not a fan of horror movies. Heh, maybe I'm playing the wrong game :D

You know what's funny? IRL, I've lived in Boston, Rhode Island (not in Providence, but the whole state is the size of a stamp), and New Hampshire (in Campton, right at the foot of the white mountains). So far these adventures are like a bit of a tour of my NE homes. If we hit Southwest CT in the next one--that'll be the whole run.

Oddly enough, I'm not really one either. That is actually kinda weird though (I don't think I have too much planned for Connecticut right now, but... maybe....).

[Zene]

Sorry about the delay! I thought it a little weird I got no notifications yesterday -- not realizing I'd missed two the night before. Still getting used to this PbP stuff.

[zingbobco000]

Nah don't worry, you're all good. I also wanted to let the both of you know that I have made Note (Wind) Repositories (Zene) for you two, as this has even more investigation and discovery than the previous adventure (also more handouts... I spend too much time on this game). I'd highly recommend using them both to help you keep everything organized, and also to help me understand where you are both at in terms of the investigation (so possible Idea [Intelligence] rolls might be supplied should things come to a grinding halt).

[WindStruck]

Aw man. I know like nothing about Boston and have NO CLUE what to do! In the meantime, I guess I can still make a short IC post...

[Zene]

Theatre scene! Or just tag along with Izzy :D

[zingbobco000]

Don't worry! What you posted was fine. TBH don't ever feel the need to go super in-depth with historical accuracy. In my opinion, it's just like putting on an accent when you RP, some people do it, others don't, and it's just based on people's comfort level.

[Zene]

Re: IC question: Sounds good!

As a note re: Riverbank lunch; Izzy doesn’t worry about eating kosher (or any other Jewish religious requirements) these days, unless he happens to be around observant Jews who he thinks might get offended.

[zingbobco000]

Re: IC question: Sounds good!

As a note re: Riverbank lunch; Izzy doesn’t worry about eating kosher (or any other Jewish religious requirements) these days, unless he happens to be around observant Jews who he thinks might get offended.

And here I was spending time trying to find kosher street food in 1920s Boston

[WindStruck]

Alright, well, I guess I'll start with a psychology roll. As customary now, how about a guess? Her dad died?

(1d100)[26]

[zingbobco000]

Shrug, I guess you'll find out .