Not Quite Lovecraft
- Thread starter Blacksheep
- Start date
- Fantasy Historic Mystery Horror
JayTar
Idea briefcase
[X]Ask if they're seeing the play
Scope out the situation first. Theater above a bar sounds rather small. We could probably get people to evacuate if we really need to by starting a small fire or something. But only in extreme circumstances.
I'm not optimistic on getting Elle back. It's probably too late for that. But hopefully we can get closure.
Scope out the situation first. Theater above a bar sounds rather small. We could probably get people to evacuate if we really need to by starting a small fire or something. But only in extreme circumstances.
I'm not optimistic on getting Elle back. It's probably too late for that. But hopefully we can get closure.
[X] Introduce yourself as a guest invited by the star of the play, using the letter to gain passage backstage.
We absolutely can't waste time before the play starts. And advance the investigation as much as we can.
We absolutely can't waste time before the play starts. And advance the investigation as much as we can.
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What are the chances, do you think, that the king in yellow knows that Elle sent the letter?
If there's a chance she's secretly reaching out for help, we need to not blow her cover
[X]Ask if they're seeing the play
Let's find out how we should be acting
Frankly I think she is now a full agent of the King. It's been years since she was lost. And just like the paintings consumed the artists the play is a piece of art. And Ellie a brushstroke in the canvas painted in the stage.. for the doomed audience.
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Wow, that is a surprisingly depressing thought
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
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- Zombie World
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- He/Him
[X] Ask if they're seeing the play
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While I can agree that your interpretation is possible, in this quest I've generally seen a strong correlation between being human and having the ability to act human. If Elle was an agent of the king in yellow, I expect she won't be able to hide it for long.
Secondarily, if agents of the king in yellow could recruit and subvert with that degree of effectiveness, I wouldn't expect new recruits to be put into work of the play itself. Either way, I think the best option is allowing for the possibility that both Elle is savable and the king in yellow is not fully aware of all her actions.
[X]Ask if they're seeing the play
First is better if we assess the situation, then we can see if we can make this people leave, so we can confront the cultists without innocents caught in the crossfire.
Actualy, how much time has passed since Elle disappeared? And how much since the start of the Quest?
Keeping track of the passage of time is difficult, so i don't have a timeline for the story.
It feels like the events of the Quest until now happened in a couple of years, but maybe its been longer.
First is better if we assess the situation, then we can see if we can make this people leave, so we can confront the cultists without innocents caught in the crossfire.
Actualy, how much time has passed since Elle disappeared? And how much since the start of the Quest?
Keeping track of the passage of time is difficult, so i don't have a timeline for the story.
It feels like the events of the Quest until now happened in a couple of years, but maybe its been longer.
Assessment is all well and good, but we really should push for stronger action economy to make use of the time left before the play starts. Ideally, put a stop to it or save as many people we can. And see what we can do about Ellie.
Supplementing the proffered choices with actions that give Oliver a lot more scope for things he wouldn't have otherwise gone for. This is an extremely dangerous territory we're in. I like the idea of downplaying knowing about Ellie.. Oliver certainly has enough charm to pretend to be part of the troupe to sneak access to her that way..
Also.. any ideas how we can disrupt the play without blowing our cover?
Supplementing the proffered choices with actions that give Oliver a lot more scope for things he wouldn't have otherwise gone for. This is an extremely dangerous territory we're in. I like the idea of downplaying knowing about Ellie.. Oliver certainly has enough charm to pretend to be part of the troupe to sneak access to her that way..
Also.. any ideas how we can disrupt the play without blowing our cover?
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Five years? Six? Time has been passing but I have not been keeping track. It is the 30s now
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Put a whoopie cushion underneath somebody else's seat?
More seriously, open up the faucets and jam the drains in the bathroom. Unlikely to be lethal, but disruptive and possibly to the point of closing down the theater.
However, the question of disruption matters in the context of the desired outcome. Too much disruption, and KoY boy just drags his actors back to his realm, because there's no chance of his desired win state. Too little and we risk blowing our cover for no reason. We danced around the threat last time, which cost us dearly. Now, in possibly Elle's first showing since being taken, Koy boy is likely aware that his actors are perceived as vulnerable to rescue (whether true or not, the appearance of weakness invites predation). As such, any defenses not already raised are likely too costly or short lived for general activation, but are also thus close to Koy boy's retreat threshold.
Disruption may cost us Elle, so I'd like to propose disruptions targeted at Elle's relationship with Koy boy and not the play itself.
My first thought is disrupting the overlap between the metaphorical theater of Koy boy and the literal building. Rent a big truck, wait until the play starts, hook some chains around a corner of the building, and then pull. Let civilization into the enclosed bubble in a very literal sense. There are potential new victims in that theater, and I emphasize that they're potential victims. Until those in the audience belong to Koy boy, they're still people in chairs watching actors on a stage to some extent. Break the spell of the theater being a separate place from society, dragging the audience back fully into reality while they're observing what are 'clearly' real people on a stage. Use their disbelief as they're waking up to hack at Koy boy's chains on Elle.
In your line of thought, I'd guess that the worst case would be that the actors will be revealed to be puppets, because they weren't real enough to be there as 'clearly' humans on a stage. However, if Elle cannot exist in the real world in her current state, then we've brought none of the tools I'd expect us to need for a retrieval incursion into (the edges, I dearly hope, of) Koy boy's realm and we'll be winging it regardless.
My second thought is reversing the protocol on the Feast of Isis. Get the actors, inclusive of Elle, to eat specially prepared food that is not (yet) part of a Feast of Isis. Then, make like the Star Trek Chronoelectric toaster that toasts bread after you've eaten it and complete the Feast of Isis for all participants. Downsides include potential total protonic reversal of all participants and having no idea how to pull it off.
My last idea at the moment also involves catering. Set up a Feast of Isis, with a lure of hunger based around a distorted mirror. Koy boy's actors see a victim ready for harvest, as they're seeing something like their own reflection, and they eat the feast willing.
All of these ideas require understanding more about how the audience behaves, in order to begin developing a plan for Koy boy
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Vote closed
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Perusing the Bar
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- She
You walked over to the front and greeted the barkeeper politely. "How can I help you?" she asked.
"Soda please." The barkeeper quickly served it up and you turned to one of the men on your right. "Are you going to see the play?"
The man snorted. "Nah, ain't got much time for that."
"And your buddy drinking with you too?"
"Sure is."
You drank your soda and looked around the room. "I'm guessing most of those going to see the play are already upstairs then."
A glass broke. Something changed.
"You would be right," the man agreed.
[ ]Look for occult influences in the bar
[ ]Head upstairs to prepare for the play
[ ]Warn people that the play is likely to be rowdy
[ ]Write-in
"Soda please." The barkeeper quickly served it up and you turned to one of the men on your right. "Are you going to see the play?"
The man snorted. "Nah, ain't got much time for that."
"And your buddy drinking with you too?"
"Sure is."
You drank your soda and looked around the room. "I'm guessing most of those going to see the play are already upstairs then."
A glass broke. Something changed.
"You would be right," the man agreed.
[ ]Look for occult influences in the bar
[ ]Head upstairs to prepare for the play
[ ]Warn people that the play is likely to be rowdy
[ ]Write-in
[X] Ask where the staff entrance is, you're an artist and here on an errand to touch up a costume. You need to get to backstage before the play begins.
[X] Occasionally tap into Nemo's senses to see if you can smell traces of occult
[X] Occasionally tap into Nemo's senses to see if you can smell traces of occult
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JayTar
Idea briefcase
So, just how many glasses are there to break? I would think the barkeep would be unhappy with this.
Good catch.. Classically breaking glasses is considered a bad omen in many cultures. Kinda also implies the area is under a fated effect. I'm starting to regret coming here without backup. Hopefully Emily lies ready in the Red house to act if we need her.
The dream god and the garden loathes foreign contamination, so if we get yellowed I wouldn't count them to help without cost though. *Flashes back to the near drowning*
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Fascinating, so there's a number of people exposed in the bar and not drawn into the play.
If we recruit them right, they might be allies.
[X] Ask where the staff entrance is, you're an artist and here on an errand to touch up a costume. You need to get to backstage before the play begins.
[X] Occasionally tap into Nemo's senses to see if you can smell traces of occult
If we recruit them right, they might be allies.
[X] Ask where the staff entrance is, you're an artist and here on an errand to touch up a costume. You need to get to backstage before the play begins.
[X] Occasionally tap into Nemo's senses to see if you can smell traces of occult
[X] Ask where the staff entrance is, you're an artist and here on an errand to touch up a costume. You need to get to backstage before the play begins.
[X] Occasionally tap into Nemo's senses to see if you can smell traces of occult
Well, that was a bad omen.
We absolutely need to stop the play before it begins.
[X] Occasionally tap into Nemo's senses to see if you can smell traces of occult
Well, that was a bad omen.
We absolutely need to stop the play before it begins.
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Do you think there's a risk of Elle not being present before the play begins?
I don't know. Maybe the "actors" are already all in the building or maybe they are teleported in when the play begins.
Just checking the backstage first would help.
But i am afraid that if we interrupt the play in the middle we risk to make things too dangerous or Elle will be harder to rescue.
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Huh, now that you mention it, I feel like 'teleportation' is both a thing and not in this quest. Every point to point transit option will be managed and supported by something eldritch, and likely incompatible with any other version. Our painting stuff might allow 'tunnels', I suppose. But there's also likely 'overlapping', mind transfer between identical bodies, and all sorts of other things almost but not quite like 'teleportation'.
Anyway, I think the assumption that the actors aren't present until the performance is a viable hypothesis. However, I think it could be just as likely that they are in stasis in coffins when not in use, as either would make finding them outside of the theater non-viable.
More generally, this bartender is okay-ish-ly normal. That means somebody likely real paid her for the theater space, which would mean there's at least one real person somewhere in this mess acting as a negotiator. If Elle isn't here in person, this negotiator seems like the best leverage target.
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Sound reasonable to me. When we go backstage we find this person and see what information we can get from them. If we discover something useful, we could be able to free Elle and the other actors from the grasp of the King in Yellow.
Otherwise we might just have to interrupt the play, grab Elle and run away as fast as we can.
Maybe we should have invested in a getaway vehicle....