Malifaux Winter Narrative League, Watertown MA

[Jonasty]

Beginning in February I will be running/organizing a Narrative Story Encounter based league at the Eagles Hall in Watertown, MA. Full details are available here: http://dorkamorka.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=9771

Some basic details:

• The League will begin the first week of February and will last for 7 weeks. It will consist of 4 linked Story Encounters played in an open format during the time period. (Full details are provided in the forum post linked above.)
  
• The local community meets at and the majority of League games will take place at the Eagles Hall in Watertown, MA. The hall is booked via the DorkaMorka crew for Thursday nights from 6PM-10:30PM for general gaming. The Eagles in Watertown is a 21+ venue as they do sell alcohol. Sorry if this proves to be an issue for anyone but it is the nature of the location.
  

If you're already signed up and registered on the DorkaMorka forums then feel free to sign up there and keep up with the latest posts there. If you're not, feel free to sign up here as I'll be providing updates here on the Wyrd forums for those of you that aren't. If you have any questions about the League or any questions about the venue please feel free to let me know.

We'd love to have folks come down and participate, whether you've already come down and played with us before or if you're new blood to the area!

[Jonasty]

Bumping this thread and letting people know a little more specifics on dates and other info.

League Schedule:

• The league will begin the first week of February and go for 7 weeks, ending the 3rd week of March.
• I will post up the 4 Story Encounters being used for league games (along with any relevant details for them) on the Mondays of the first 4 weeks. So the 1st available Story Encounter will be posted and the leageue will officially begin on Monday 2/3/14.
• As a reminder, once we're fully into it, league games do not need to be played in order.

We've got 15 registered players currently. Below is the list of declared factions/masters.

Lady J, Guild

Misaki, Ten Thunders

Master?, Gremlin

Victorias, Outcasts

Master?, Outcasts

Master?, Guild

Seamus, Ressurectionists

Tara, Ressurectionists

Lilith, Neverborn

Zoraida, Neverborn

Rasputina, Arcanists

Lilith, Neverborn

Master?, Faction?

Colette, Arcanists

Kaeris, Arcanists

[Jonasty]

Winter League: A Stranger Arrives (Encounter 1)

 

Gilbert rechecked the ammo in his collier for the tenth time and went back to watching the street before him. The fading sunlight was casting dark shadows in the various streets and alleys around him making it all the harder a task. Hunching his shoulders, he tried to press himself further into the wall as he waited.

Working for the twins was dangerous work but it paid well and this evening’s work wasn’t any different on either account. The Governor was bringing someone important through the Breach tonight; someone so important that almost no one, even amongst the rest of the Guild, knew who he was or why he was being brought over. All anyone knew was that there was a great amount of care being taken to ensure their safe arrival, with a huge Guild presence around Malifaux Station. This of course meant that every faction in the city wanted him, regardless of the cost and was why Gilbert was standing around in a side alley near the station waiting for further orders.

A soft scraping sound further down the alley he was standing in caused Gilbert to whirl, bringing his gun up to bear. His eyes struggled to make anything out in the now dark alley as dim light filtered through shuttered windows around him. Another sound at his back made him spin again yet still there was nothing he could see. Lowering the gun and calling himself fool, he went to lean against his wall again and wait. Nights in Malifaux could make a man crazy. The wind shifted directions only briefly but it was enough to bring him the smell of rotted things and damp earth and to let him know how foolish he had been to think himself safe.

He didn’t have time to scream as dead hands ripped him off his feet and began to tear him apart.

Encounter Specific rules/notes:

Story Encounter Strategy: Escort

Players using Guild will always be the Attacker for this scenario. Defender will still need to flip for their specific victory condition as normal. (If two Guild players end up playing this scenario against each other then Attacker/Defender determination will be handled via random draws as normal. Not everyone in the Guild sees eye to eye on how things should be done after all. )

[Jonasty]

Winter League: Needle in a Burning Haystack (Encounter 2)

 

Henderson ran down the cobbled street clutching his Collier, blood trickling down his arm from a wound in his ribs to make the handle slippery in his grasp. As he passed in front of a shop with a seamstress's sign hanging above the door the large windowed facade of the building erupted in a fireball around him, throwing him through the air to land with a jarring crash on the ground.

Rising slowly, his ears ringing from the blast, he could only watch in stunned horror as ahead of him a winged Neverborn came lurching out of a nearby alley as if drawn by the noise. It staggered briefly before catching itself but rather than seeing the lone Guild guardsman standing mere yards away from it, its focus was firmly centered on the horde of shambling corpses that spilled out after it. They plowed into the enraged creature, trying to suffocate it through sheer numbers. And it seemed to be working. With a roar the creature swung out at them sending limbs flying but it looked a lost cause.

Thanking whatever powers he could think of Henderson bolted down another street away from the terrifying scene and rounded a corner to see Ramirez come running through a thick cloud of smoke ahead of him. Henderson almost let out a cry of joy at seeing his fellow guardsman but quickly remembered the scene he had just left and wisely kept his mouth closed as the two approached each other.

"That way's fucked. Fire's claimed most of the block and is spreading quick." Henderson nodded, grimacing slightly at his wound. Ramirez looked down in concern but Henderson just motioned for him to continue.

"Word from the Judge is we're supposed to locate the package and secure it to the Enclave no matter the cost. It seems he's holed himself up somewhere in the area in all the confusion. Can't blame him given the shit show this has turned into."

Henderson couldn't believe all of the chaos that had erupted over one man. It seemed every power player in Malifaux had shown up at the station and it was death and destruction immediately after. Fully five blocks of the city were ablaze now and there were dead and dying everywhere. And yet somehow they were still supposed to be concerned about one man enough to find him amongst all of this.

Hearing a scraping sound behind him, he turned and watched with Ramirez as the undead things rounded the corner into sight. Apparently they'd finished with the winged terror and were ready for more.

Thinking of facing Justice having not tried his damnedest to follow her orders he drew his sword and raised his Collier, sensing Ramirez coming to the same conclusion and doing the same. Henderson gave him a wry smile as the blood trickled down his side. "At least there aren't as many now."

Encounter Specific rules/notes:

Story Encounter Strategy: Search

Deployment for this Encounter will always be Blind Deployment.

[Jonasty]

Winter League: The Device (Encounter 3)

Ramos flipped through the papers before him as the nervous man stood before him wringing his hands together. The documents contained various formulae, schematics and other arcane scribblings that would mean nothing to most men but to Ramos were a vivid picture painted across the pages. Reaching the end, he started again from the beginning oblivious to the man watching him with barely restrained anxiety.

Finishing the packet for the second time, he set it down on the table before him and looked up to the nervous man. "You've confirmed the man's name was Shintaro? Hitazori Shintaro?"

The man nodded quickly. "I went back to my source like you said and he confirmed it. Hitazori. He's the one the Guild went all topsy-turvy bringin' over a few months back."

Ramos sat quietly in thought for a moment before nodding to Joss who had been standing silently in the corner watching the exchange. The big man moved forward and laid a hand on the mousey individual's shoulder. He nearly leapt off the ground but for Joss's massive paw holding him in place. With a sardonic grin Joss guided the man towards the door and nudged him out of the room, giving him a slightly harder than necessary shove out. "See Barrows for your money. And if I hear you're talking about what we paid you for, you'll be seeing a lot more of me."

Not waiting to hear the strangled assurances that he wouldn't utter a word, Joss turned back towards his boss and shut the door behind him. He didn't bother trying to look at the papers in front of Ramos, knowing that most of the writings would be like Greek to him. Instead he lowered his bulk into a chair across the desk and waited for his boss to speak.

"I want you to send some men to the depot down by the Enclave."

Joss nodded briefly and leaned forward. "Something we need t'worry about?"

Ramos shook his head hesitantly before pulling the papers before him and beginning to shuffle through them again. "There've been rumors that the Governor was looking to develop a way to control the Breach. To create a way to open and close the Breach at his own whim."

Joss sat back with a shifting of weight and a quiet inhalation. A small smile crossed Ramos's lips, "I see that the import of that possibility is clear." He shuffled the papers in his hands briefly. "I've heard of Shintaro and took the liberty of reviewing his works to-date. He's certainly talented but I don't think we need to worry overmuch about him completing this. All the same though, I think it best if you arrange for some of the men to visit Depot 17 near the Enclave. That's apparently where he's constructing this device."

As Joss rose to leave and pass on the orders, Ramos gave him a look. "Tell the men to bring their tools." Joss chuckled and nodded as he left.

Encounter Specific rules/notes:

Story Encounter Strategy: Sabotage

There are no special rules or setup for this encounter.

[Jonasty]

Winter League: And Now for a Demonstration! (Encounter 4)

The crowd ebbed and flowed like a sea as people jostled with each other to get a better view. News had leaked out about a grand Guild device being tested and despite the Governor's best efforts they had thronged the streets around the testing area to catch a glimpse. They had no idea what they were watching for but this didn't stop them from trying to get a good luck at it. Some were already talking that the supposed secrecy of this test was little more than the Governor's veiled cover of what he hoped would be a grand demonstration of the Guild's awesome power and ingenuity within Malifaux.

The thing that looked like former Guild guardsman Ramirez snaked it's way slowly through the crowd, making its way towards the front of the crowd. Some guardsman caught sight and gave it a friendly nod as it walked by which it returned with a casual smile and tip of its hat. What was left of the real Ramirez was slowly rotting in a pool blood and gore in some forgotten alley but no one knew that today. Even if it weren't a madhouse of activity, few would recognize the subtle differences between the man they might have once called friend and the thing wearing his flesh now.

As it approached the front lines it could sense others like it moving closer as well. The Guild presence was large as its mistress had known it would be and a flat out assault was a certain failure. Instead the natives of Malifaux had spent the last few days building up their subtle presence within the city to allow them unfettered access to this demonstration.

Moving easily past the line of Guild keeping the throngs of regular folks back far enough back from the main gates, faux-Ramirez moved further into the compound where a smaller but far more elite group of people waited to see this new device. These were the movers and shakers of Malifaux and it was to them that this spectacle was aimed. The Neverborn creature stayed back towards the periphery of the group and waited for its opportunity, patient in the knowledge of its goal and the total element of surprise.

With a sudden shriek and the loud retort of weapons fire faux-Ramirez turned to look with the rest of the elite at a sudden commotion outside the line of guardsmen. A wholly inhuman form lay crumpled in a pool of drying blood as violence began to erupt all throughout the crowd, people yelling in terror as they suddenly realized monsters walked amongst them.

The thing in the Ramirez suit moved quickly and calmly towards the machine, hoping to lose itself amongst the chaos and accomplish its task but there suddenly was another guardsman who stepped out from behind a row of crates. He stood there silently for a moment and gave the creature a long, wary look.

"I don't know what you are or what you monsters are trying to do here but I'll be damned if I let you wear that face one more minute." Henderson pulled the sword that was sheathed at his belt and walked slowly forwards.

Encounter Specific rules/notes:

Story Encounter Strategy: Arcane Ritual

In addition to the standard rules for Arcane Ritual, this encounter will also be using the Shindig variant. All the rules for a Shindig will be followed as normal and the joker considered flipped for this will always be the Red Joker.

[Jonasty]

Winter League Final results

 

Congrats to Ian for winning the whole enchilada last night in his finals game against ArmyMatt! Leveticus carried the win over Lilith's brood!

A big thank you to everyone who participated in this event, it seemed to be a lot of fun for folks and we saw a good amount of interest. Kudos to Alex for turning his league games into such an amazing narrative throughout, which was the whole point of running a Story based league.

I look forward to running something again for folks in the future. If you have ideas on what you'd like to see, feel free to let me know.

Final League Results

2014 Winter League Champion

• Ian running Leveticus

2nd Place

• Army Matt running Lilith

3rd Place

• Alex running Misaki