Patrick's Going to Run a Skype Game

[Mckma]

I think it's going to be a little weird listening to myself, but I also think it's going to be worth it...

[Moondog]

I think it's going to be a little weird listening to myself, but I also think it's going to be worth it...

Listening to recordings of yourself is one of the oddest things, and it takes a lot of getting used to, I find. Unless you  naturally have an awesome voice, which I don't.

[Tadanori Oyama]

I can't believe I missed this game. I ended up in a crappy Pathfinder variant instead. *sigh*

[Setherick]

I can't believe I missed this game. I ended up in a crappy Pathfinder variant instead. *sigh*

Oh man, and the guy that took your place ended up getting MVP of the scenario. That's Montana getting benched for Young.

[Charlie72]

Specifically looking for suggestions on improvised weapons and traps using standard office furniture that I can rework into game terms.

Plasma screen TV from break room.
Network cables used to strangle.
Computer monitor place on ladders next to doors.
Use fire extinguisher to make bomb.
Nintendo DS with sharpened edges.

[crash2455]

You might want to link the pregame text, the chatlog, and the map on the community page.

Also, I'm crash2455.

Specifically looking for suggestions on improvised weapons and traps using standard office furniture that I can rework into game terms.

Most buildings with servers have Uninterruptable Power Supplies to keep the servers online.  These are powered by lead acid batteries.  You can take the acid out of those batteries, put it in a drinking glass, and throw it in someone's face.


Anything heavy or vaguely sharp works.

• Paperweight
• Stapler
• Cane
• Umbrella
• Ring of Keys
• Desk Lamp
• Straightedge / Ruler
• Stepladder
• Broken bottle/glass/coffee mug
• Scissors

Anything with a cable can be employed as a garrote:

• Phone
• Computer Mouse
• Extension Cord / Power Strip
• Wire Coat Hanger

Traps?

• Microwave oven with a busted door
• Desk Fridge filled with. . . cans of soda, I guess placed above a door
• Door handle wired to a wall socket (which I guess wouldn't work until the power comes back on, but still)
• Coke and Mentos bomb

Also, a friend recommended 5 Minutes to Kill Yourself for other deadly uses of office supplies.

[Setherick]

Specifically looking for suggestions on improvised weapons and traps using standard office furniture that I can rework into game terms.

Network cables used to strangle.

This is a good one. I like the idea of a roving IT guy, carrying a piece of CAT5 cable as a garrote. Actually, the person going to scrounge parts for the servers could run across the guy or notice that some of the cable is missing. I think the guy should be a random encounter somewhere in the building though.

Which reminds me that I need to put an IT office somewhere in the building that has the supplies to repair the servers, so that people have to go several places to collect several different things. I oversimplified it for the alpha test.

[crash2455]

You should also have a guy wearing other employees' nametags as trophies.

Which reminds me that I need to put an IT office somewhere in the building that has the supplies to repair the servers, so that people have to go several places to collect several different things. I oversimplified it for the alpha test.

This could also be the place to employ a battery acid trap.

[AmishNinja]

The trick is not to make the traps/improvised weapons too complicated. Due to the state of mind these people are in, it should be kept relatively simple. But yeah, I'm sitting here in an office right now and even after looking around I can't add much of anything that hasn't already been mentioned. I'm not a very innovative office-warrior.

Edit: If you want to make things a little deadlier, you could say that there was some office renovation going on at the time. Tools make for good weapons.

[crash2455]

You could also include things that someone might keep in a handbag/messenger bag (which I suppose you did with Hairspray)

Emergency Car Things:
Road Flares
Those weird hammers for breaking out your windows

Small Tools/Multitool

You can also fill such a bag with heavy objects and just flail it around.

[Setherick]

The trick is not to make the traps/improvised weapons too complicated. Due to the state of mind these people are in, it should be kept relatively simple. But yeah, I'm sitting here in an office right now and even after looking around I can't add much of anything that hasn't already been mentioned. I'm not a very innovative office-warrior.

Edit: If you want to make things a little deadlier, you could say that there was some office renovation going on at the time. Tools make for good weapons.

Ross and I discussed lawn upkeep tools at one point, but I didn't add them into the alpha test. I wanted to see if the situation was convincing enough to get players to become paranoid and start accusing each other. That part worked.

Now it's all about deadly and stability destroying encounters.

Pregens should be done tonight minus a few character details on some of them. Currently the order goes

2 Point Men - One an Expert Infiltrator (only character with Infiltration) and One that doubles as a handyman (only character with Mechanics).
1 Biochemist
1 Medic
Andrew Whitworth - Trauma Psychologist

and the new pregen

Donovan Staley - An IT Specialist from the Department of Defense that is there to specifically retrieve sensitive data from Mimetic Solutions computers and servers.

Staley is the major update in the game. Mimetic Solutions has recently been contracted by the DOD to do content screening.

You could also include things that someone might keep in a handbag/messenger bag (which I suppose you did with Hairspray)

Emergency Car Things:
Road Flares
Those weird hammers for breaking out your windows

Small Tools/Multitool

You can also fill such a bag with heavy objects and just flail it around.

I also thought of collapsible batons and mace / pepper spray during the game.

[Charlie72]

You should also have a guy wearing other employees' nametags as trophies.

And make him seem sane and helpful until his alone with one guy and/or gets asked too many questions.

"Why do you have all those name tags?"
"Cause they never heard me coming"
"... Wait, what!?"

[crash2455]

You should also have a guy wearing other employees' nametags as trophies.

And make him seem sane and helpful until his alone with one guy and/or gets asked too many questions.

"Why do you have all those name tags?"
"Cause they never heard me coming"
"... Wait, what!?"

Heh. I was thinking more of Cube 2, but that would be an awesome callback.

[Setherick]

Quick revisions are finished for now. V2 is ready for game testing in its currently incomplete form.

[Salkovich]

Just started re-listening to the AP of our session, and something occurred to me. The primary reason we didn't investigate any of the side offices or meeting areas was due to the fact that the server room - which was Ross' objective and quickly became ours - was so easily accessible. Yes, the printer room was right in front of it, but that was the only real dangerous thing to deal with.

Perhaps if the servers were hidden away in some offices - Perry Morgan's, maybe - or the room was simply moved - perhaps into the northwest corner, across the building from the secondary entrance - it would be a damn good opportunity to throw more of those crazy bastards/traps at the PCs. Seemed like a lot of cool, creepy stuff was missed simply because the servers were dead set in the middle of the building.