Post by Adminenkainen on Aug 18, 2015 13:05:06 GMT
It began with a conversation with Megan. As some of you may already know, my wife Megan has played more H&H than anyone else alive. She currently is the only player in two concurrent H&H campaigns, one I run at home and one I run at the Blue Box Cafe in Elgin. After this last session of the home campaign, she told me that this was her favorite of the two campaigns. And I took that as a challenge -- the challenge to make this next session of the Blue Box JSA Campaign so amazing that it would make it harder for her to choose a favorite between them. Where I succeeded, where I failed, and the research and preparation that went into both will be the subject of a series of posts here.
Previously, our first scenario had been an addendum to the finale scene in All-Star Comics #4 -- a previously unseen 3-level hideout that had to be searched before the villain, Fritz Klaver, could be confronted. There were still some loose ends from that scenario that some of the players wanted to look into. And then I also wanted to fast forward through 3 months of game time to the next scenario, All-Star Comics #5. So, to accommodate both of these, I wanted to flash forward slowly, stopping on a different scene every 9 days -- or, essentially, 9-day turns. If the Heroes were acting solo, they would each get 5 minutes for their 9-day turn, but they could team up and share minutes for a longer turn. Then I drafted a document consisting of over 7 pages of notes for this session that broke the 3 month timeline into 9 turns (some with notes for up to 3 sub-turns, as I tried to anticipate what might happen).
So, the Turn 1 notes looked like this:
Turn 1 (April 22, 1941)
Sandman & Green Lantern (10 minute turn)
Calver(t) the Great’s phone call at the bar was to a woman who picked him up in a car a few hours later and drove away out of town.
Sandman, Green Lantern, do you pursue?
If yes, when you caught them and they surrendered, Calvert’s sister Rose told all -- that her brother Loring now feared for his life, for he had ignored the summons of a Mr. X to come work for Klaver in Ohio. Calvert doesn’t want to confess to treason and face death, but would like to go to jail for his own protection from Mr. X.
Rose and Loring know that Mr. X has an interstate gang that should be in both Sandman’s Philadelphia and Green Lantern’s New York City.
Flash (5 minute turn)
Flash talks to Ramo Sanas, who is actually Mexican (Ramone Sanchez) and can be deported for working for Klaver. Ramo is considering returning to Mexico and fight the banditos he grew up with because Ramone has dabbled in black magic and fears for his soul.
Flash can let Ramo go, turn him in, or accompany him to Mexico.
Hawkman (5 minute turn)
Hawkman has no interest in remaining in Toledo and leaves a message for the rest of the team that he will be at the next meeting of the Justice Society in June, three months from now. Besides, Hawkman is eager to hear how Shiera, his eternal love, is doing on the Graydon Expedition to Mongolia. The Explorer’s Club in New York City should have news about the expedition by now.
Hawkman can fly there (in 9 hours), call long distance, or send a telegram. When he contacts them, he learns that Shiera’s expedition has gone missing!
If Hawkman wants to fly to Mongolia, it will take 11 days from NY. Or he can try to find Sandman to borrow the ring for summoning Spectre or Dr. Fate.
Hourman (5 minute turn)
Hourman interrogates Klaver and may learn that Luthor gave him the Dimension Z portal. If Hourman makes a save vs. plot, he remembers Luthor making headlines in February 1940 for raising an island in the Pacific and causing floods around the Pacific Rim. The Daily Planet out of New York City had scooped the story.
Previously, our first scenario had been an addendum to the finale scene in All-Star Comics #4 -- a previously unseen 3-level hideout that had to be searched before the villain, Fritz Klaver, could be confronted. There were still some loose ends from that scenario that some of the players wanted to look into. And then I also wanted to fast forward through 3 months of game time to the next scenario, All-Star Comics #5. So, to accommodate both of these, I wanted to flash forward slowly, stopping on a different scene every 9 days -- or, essentially, 9-day turns. If the Heroes were acting solo, they would each get 5 minutes for their 9-day turn, but they could team up and share minutes for a longer turn. Then I drafted a document consisting of over 7 pages of notes for this session that broke the 3 month timeline into 9 turns (some with notes for up to 3 sub-turns, as I tried to anticipate what might happen).
So, the Turn 1 notes looked like this:
Turn 1 (April 22, 1941)
Sandman & Green Lantern (10 minute turn)
Calver(t) the Great’s phone call at the bar was to a woman who picked him up in a car a few hours later and drove away out of town.
Sandman, Green Lantern, do you pursue?
If yes, when you caught them and they surrendered, Calvert’s sister Rose told all -- that her brother Loring now feared for his life, for he had ignored the summons of a Mr. X to come work for Klaver in Ohio. Calvert doesn’t want to confess to treason and face death, but would like to go to jail for his own protection from Mr. X.
Rose and Loring know that Mr. X has an interstate gang that should be in both Sandman’s Philadelphia and Green Lantern’s New York City.
Flash (5 minute turn)
Flash talks to Ramo Sanas, who is actually Mexican (Ramone Sanchez) and can be deported for working for Klaver. Ramo is considering returning to Mexico and fight the banditos he grew up with because Ramone has dabbled in black magic and fears for his soul.
Flash can let Ramo go, turn him in, or accompany him to Mexico.
Hawkman (5 minute turn)
Hawkman has no interest in remaining in Toledo and leaves a message for the rest of the team that he will be at the next meeting of the Justice Society in June, three months from now. Besides, Hawkman is eager to hear how Shiera, his eternal love, is doing on the Graydon Expedition to Mongolia. The Explorer’s Club in New York City should have news about the expedition by now.
Hawkman can fly there (in 9 hours), call long distance, or send a telegram. When he contacts them, he learns that Shiera’s expedition has gone missing!
If Hawkman wants to fly to Mongolia, it will take 11 days from NY. Or he can try to find Sandman to borrow the ring for summoning Spectre or Dr. Fate.
Hourman (5 minute turn)
Hourman interrogates Klaver and may learn that Luthor gave him the Dimension Z portal. If Hourman makes a save vs. plot, he remembers Luthor making headlines in February 1940 for raising an island in the Pacific and causing floods around the Pacific Rim. The Daily Planet out of New York City had scooped the story.
?
